Equal Romance :02: Obscure Ways to Devotion
by Ayotte
Summary: The second in the Equal Romance Trilogy. When Ron falls into a coma and Kim feels she is to blame, there's only one solution: to go into his mind and rescue him. After all the two have been through, what awaits her? R&R!
1. Tension Reprisal

Author's Note: woo! Here we go, the SECOND STORY LIEK OMG FINALLY. **If you are new to the Equal Romance Trilogy stop right there and read this!** This is a continuing story, the second in a trilogy. If you are planning on reading this story, it is highly recomended that you read the first story: **Equal Romance :01: _Tension Living_**. Yes, it's long, but this story isn't going anywhere. You'll be caught up to speed on what's going on and you won't have the ending of the first story spoiled for you ;0.

And to my returning readers, thank-you for your interest in my story!

Question time!

1. Yes, I have the whole trilogy all mapped out. For this second story, I know how many instalments there are and what will happen in each one (there is the possibility of a merge/separation though; like in Tension Living, 02 & 03 were originally one chapter and this one was originally two chapters). Sometimes I do throw in smaller scenes that weren't in the original plan, mainly to help connect things or something fun :P

2. Yes, in _Obscure Ways to Devotion_, there'll be 'abnormalities' like the hand-holding thing in _Tension Living_.

3. Ron's Monkey Powers? There's definately a possibility of them resurfacing later on in this fict ;D

4. Not an answer to a question, but thank-you for understanding that I also have RL issues to deal with! Due to circumstances out of my control, I haven't been able to write on this story in a long time, it was SO frustrating, lemme tell you. I was able to campout on the bathroom floor at one in the morning writing on ER in a tiny notebook however 8D;

5. Thank-you for the apology, drakken. I'm sorry, but no. This is not a request fic, I already have the story planned, I know what's going to happen and it will happen the way the story is meant to be told.

6. 'Cos' is a slang abreviation for 'because', I've seen it written as such before. I think it's in my slang dictionary too gasp:0

7. Lol that's ok! Yes, I am female :D

8. After finally watching So the Drama, Maggie's name was changed to Jessica.

This instalment is really long, sorry, but Loo and I thought it best to merge the original instalments one and two. But I think it'll be ok since I've deprived you for so long :x SORRY. I'll try to let it not happen again but who knows what life will fling at me next x.x;;

Some of you wrote truly beautiful reviews, you know who you are and I thank you a billion times over times five plus four. Deeper reviews like that really help me and are just plain wonderful to read. Thank-you for taking your time to do so.

I'd like to thank the reviewers who reviewed 'Tension Living 12: _Prelude to Obscure Ways_': Classic Cowboy, I walk alone, Liliac Moon, Masau, Ashley, John Steppenwolf, Nessa, Cold-Chaos, nebulia, Crystal-One, Sean, Paul Stoppable, Dragonslayer527, JPMod, LJ Fan, Gryfffinrose, Forlong, Fernnu, kpShadowGirl, Zippy, CPO3, Nakasumisan24, MtnRon, Dreamer007, BabyMama9672, knuckz, Mavyric, Aldea Donder, Taka, Akemi, DigiSim, Caiyne, Razzle Jazzle, crazyboutbooks, Sukari, scubagurl, YamiSakura989, Sessha WaRurouni, Spider-Woman, BrattyBrina, Salimoo, continental-line,Char, Ptashi & Loo (... I've nothing to say actually. It's quite sad that we haven't talked in awhile. NO SODA FOR YOU. Or Rondrugs. Definately not .0.)

A. King

* * *

¤ Instalment 01 »» _Tension Reprisal ¤_

I was really expecting it

I was really doubting it

What was it? Who was it?

They say he's a good person

He seems like a person I don't care about

-Ayumi Hamasaki, '_Boys and Girls_'

* * *

In Middleton High's school cafeteria, Ron Stoppable sat chewing despondently on a carrot stick as he listened half-heartedly to his friend's talk of the new Zombie Mayhem video game instalment due to come out for the Holiday season.

"I heard there's _twelve_ unlockable weapons to select from," Felix intoned after swallowing his bite of tuna sandwich. "Three of which are brand new! I saw a screenshot of one of them, but you can never tell if they're gonna be of any good until you actually use them in the game," he laughed.

"H'm," Ron replied to which Felix murmured a sigh. This seemed to be Ron's favoured reply for the past four weeks.

But then, Ron had a lot to dwell upon during those four weeks; Felix understood this and remained diligently patient with Ron's dull and tedious funk. Not that Ron ever had his uplifting moments, but those were always rare and few, never happening at school and only when he was in company of Felix and Rufus, his only friends. It was as if the school building itself dragged Ron down, secreting some sort of special poison or other that could only effect Ron's attitude.

It _was_ a sort of poison, Felix knew: a poison of infectious memories. Memories that swirled inside Ron's mind and lingered like an unwanted shadow from the moment the blonde haired, brown eyed boy stepped upon the premises. Even with all the memories the surrounding area brought forth for Ron Stoppable, it was made all the worse by the constant sight of the person who had caused all of his current woes:

Kim Possible.

School was the only place he ever saw her nowadays, she had to be the source of the poison, not the school. True, it was hard to believe that the month of September had passed them all by and it brought in the month of October. A new month usually meant changes, but not for the relationship between Kim and Ron however. It was this that was Ron's constant fraught.

Nothing at all developed between the two once the best and closest of friends anyone at Middleton High had ever seen, who had been on the very verge of becoming more than just that, had torn apart from one another in such an inexplicably violent way. After their hands had separated from one another, after that following day, the two had not even exchanged one single word with the other. Ron was past attempting contact with Kim, he had appeared to have accepted this tragic schism in their friendship.

No. Ron had not totally _accepted_ this through all those four weeks that had passed by. He had only 'come to terms' with it. Barely.

How could he _accept_ it when his feelings for Kim, like their broken ties, remained unchanging? How could he when he felt his own _heart_ bleed whenever he sighted Kim with Josh Mankey?

Josh Mankey. And to believe Ron had once erased that blasted boy from his worry-chart forever. To think Ron had once been relieved in thinking Kim would never have any sort of affection for that boy again. What a laugh!

If four weeks had passed since Kim and Ron separated hands, then that meant Kim and Josh had also been dating for a full thirty-three days. _Thirty three days they had been _dating Who knew what could have happened during that time. Who knew how their relationship could have developed or what they might have shared with one another during those cursed thirty-three days.

Those thoughts never graced Ron's mind with absence. Every time he spotted Kim standing with Josh at his locker, admiring some stupid painting he did, walking down the halls with him, or sitting with him in the cafeteria just as they were doing now, Ron's mind would be flooded with his own curiosity; wondering _how_ close they were… how close things could get…

Ron wouldn't dare approach Kim anymore, not since the day after Kim had denounced him with a sharp physical branding of repent. Not since Kim had taken her usual seat in Chemistry class. That spoke volumes to Ron. Before, during that day, it was Kim who would distance herself from Ron, seating herself elsewhere as he took his usual seat hoping Kim would sit with him as she always did. But when she took up her usual seat, that said to Ron that she would not hide from him, _he_ would have to hide from _her_. He had to change his seat. Ron had to make the adjustments, not Kim. That hurt him still.

Maybe he would approach her… _maybe_ if he found some confidence in those firm, glimmering green eyes that he found so attractive. But he never did. Although they exchanged not a word, they often exchanged glances. This is what caused what little hope that somehow sparked within Ron on occasion to diminish.

Her eyes were always callous to him and yet so endearing when gazing upon Josh's handsome form. When looking at Ron and gazing into his eyes as he looked into hers, they were always scrutinizing and filled with such a strong emotion that Ron feared, _feared_ might one day turn to hatred, if it was not so already. This is what made Ron loose any confidence in approaching her. He couldn't bare the thought of accidentally pushing her to that brink. He could not fully live if Kim Possible _hated_ him.

And so it all was that added up to Ron's replied 'H'm' that Felix composedly accepted. Felix himself had no notion of how long Ron's upset state would continue, especially if it had been going on for a full month now. He truly hoped it wouldn't last much longer yet not for his own sake in dealing with Ron. No, Felix was much too charitable for that, but for Ron's own health, not to mention his grades.

Both slipped drastically ever since. Without Kim to aid him and cram with, Ron's grades, which had, back then, been rising slowly, began to drop. Even in Ron's cooking class did Ron's grades decline, which really only proved it was not only Kim's lack of help, but Ron's own poor attitude affecting his grades. Not that Ron cared about his descending grades, his mind was so fixated on his depression (no, not diagnosed), that he began not to care.

Felix wasn't positive on this, but he felt as if Ron's health was also decreasing. But maybe it was just Ron's continual wilting attitude. Felix had no way of knowing this, but he was spot on with that guess.

Ron's fevers were more frequent and heightened in temperature. The ill feeling in his stomach increased and was almost always with him. Often Ron felt like throwing everything up but somehow managed to keep it down, going at an easy pace.

At the beginning, when he and Kim were still stuck at the hands, Ron thought his stomach sickness and reoccurring fevers was some illness that had managed to penetrate his Stoppable Immune System and would be gone in a matter of days.

Wishful thinking on Ron's part. Yes, he thought about going to see the school nurse from time to time when the thought drifted into his mind, but honestly, he saw no point in doing so. He always told himself it would clear up in a day or two, although it only worsened.

Eventually, although it was persistently with him, his mysterious illness took a backseat on his priority chart to his feelings.

His longing feelings for Kim…

There she sat now, Ron observed, turning his head away from Felix and away from Rufus too (who was probably in the process of thieving Ron's unattended Lunch…). How beautifully she had brushed her flowing, radiating red hair that morning and how serenely she sat… side-by-side Josh Mankey who was talking merrily with his artist pals at a far away lunch table.

_Huh_, Ron snorted. How could she have ever thought he would ever treat her like an object to gain pleasure from when it was obviously Mankey treating her so? She sat diligently, silently at his side like some elegant ornament. If it were _he_ instead of Josh at her side, Ron would be engaging with her, telling her a joke, talking with her and enjoying her presence. _Appreciating_ her presence. Not ignoring her. She deserved better…

And how Ron yearned to show Kim how much he desired her. How he _deserved_ to desire Kim.

"So, what do you think?" Felix pressed after the long pause. "It's going on my Christmas list."

Ron turned his head back to Felix beside him on his other side, although he responded, his eyes looked remote. "Oh yea, me too, sounds like fun."

"What sounds like fun?" said a new voice from behind and the two boys plus naked mole-rat turned around to face Gil who was approaching with Prince Wally right behind.

"The sound of your feet walking in the other direction," Ron retorted; Felix smiled and Rufus returned to eating Ron's lunch.

Gil took up a seat on Ron's free side, blocking his view of Kim "Oh, that hurts, Squeeb," Gil replied, rolling his eyes. "Are you _still_ in a Kim-induced funk? Yeesh, I thought this would have blown over already."

Ron turned away and commenced poking at his mashed potatoes with his silver fork; the few potatoes that remained from Rufus' scrounge anyway. "Ugh, you don't get anything, just leave me alone."

"Teen angst, ahoy," Gil laughed. He leaned forwards and asked of Felix, "Is he like this twenty-four/seven? Or am I just special like this?"

"He's been like this ever since," Felix shrugged.

Ron glared at Felix with his head still down, "Don't need ta talk like I'm not here. Thank-you, but I _am_ still here, y'know."

"Which is really too bad," Gil mulled, resting his chin in the palm of his hand.

Ron shot Gil a look.

"Y'know, sometimes I wish I_ had_ ripped you apart way back when we were all at Camp Gottagrin, it'd put you out of this misery," Gil said conversationally.

"Oh, that's nice to know," Ron's voice dripped heavily with sarcastic venom, Rufus giggled, but at whom it was hard to tell.

Wally sat down gingerly in the chair next to Gil, facing Ron. "Haven't you ever _tried_ to do something that you commoners might call 'fun'? It might cheer you up."

"Aww, Wally, didn't know you cared for Ronnie here," Gil mocked, grinning broadly.

"I _don't_," Wally sniffed, flicking a crumb off the table in front of him. "But if I _sound_ like I care I might earn his vote for class president."

"Going for your third year in a row?" Felix asked, sceptically.

"I haven't lost to anyone yet, not even _Kim Possible_," Wally said, his pompous nose in the air, "She really _can_ do anything. Like loose to a prince… like me."

At this Ron lifted his head, appearing extremely agitated, "Look, she could have won if she wanted to!"

"Touchy subject, meow," Gil smirked, he punched Ron lightly in the shoulder. "Calm _down_, would ya? We're just talking about class presidency here."

"If she didn't 'want to' then why did she force you to nominate her?" Prince Wally sneered under his breath, Ron flashed Wally a deadly look and if Felix didn't grab back Ron's arm, the boy might have flown at the prince for a royal beating. Ron was really touchy whenever someone talked of Kim and although he was irritated with her in his mind, he wouldn't take any bad talk of his ex-best friend.

"But hey, the Wallster has a point," Gil spoke up (Wally cringed at the repulsive nick-name brought up). "You do need to do something fun, you can't be like this forever just because Possible dumped your sorry ass." (Felix sent Gil a warning look that Gil seemed to have completely missed purposefully.) "And lucky you has me with all the answers!" he jabbed a proud finger at himself.

"And what's that? For him to sleep with every girl in Middleton?" Felix retorted dryly.

"Heeeeey," Gil growled back at the shot, "I was going through a very rough time, kay? It _seemed_ like the natural solution."

"Emphasis on natural," Wally smirked.

"Anyway, _as_ I was _saying_, I think the solution is very clear and I happen to have it right here in my pocket…"

At that, Felix, Ron, Rufus and Wally all blanched forwards in disgust.

"Oh, get your minds of the gutters, children," Gil scowled and withdrew from his coat pocket, a white envelope.

As soon as Ron spotted the envelope, his mind flashed back to the one he had written Kim's name on. The one which held the card that he had poured his mind and emotions into, staying up late at night, planning what to say to her. How it hurt and burned inside himself once more to remember that even with everything he had written inside it, Kim still rejected him. Presently he swallowed hard, his eyes shimmering with sorrow and more longing grew within…

But this envelope Gil had… could it be… could it be from Kim!

Gil waved the envelope back and forth between his pointer and middle finger. As he did this Ron caught the name on the envelope and it was indeed for him! Gil noticed Ron's anxious eyes fasten to the white envelope he waved about in front of his face.

"See, cos I concocted a plan and voila, this one is for you," Gil smirked, brushing back his black, spiked hair and handing Ron the envelope who took it from it carefully. It didn't look like Kim's handwriting.

Felix craned his neck over as he watched with inquisitive eyes while Ron tore open the sealed envelope, his own eyes were equally filled with intense curiosity. Opening the envelope, Ron pulled out a small card exchanging a look with Felix; Ron opened the card and read it to himself.

"Whoah, back-up, a _party_?" Ron blurted out, perplexed.

"That's right," Gil grinned, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms. "I'm gonna be hosting a party this Friday night, hope to see ya there, Ronnie. It'll do you some good to get some alcho- I mean, good times in your brain. Your funk here's been going on for much too long, heh."

After reading the invite for himself, Felix looked up at Gil suspiciously, "You'll have any excuse to throw a party, won't you?"

Leaning forwards, Gil returned the icy glare, "Keep that 'tude up and I'll make sure it's a stair-access party only, wheel-boy," and he tossed another envelope carelessly in Felix's direction with his name on it.

Ron heaved a sigh and tossed the card to one side, the other boys didn't know it, but his stomach illness was increasing dramatically inside him not only that but it was beginning to feel like a furnace in the cafeteria. "I dunno, I'm not in a mood for this kinda thing."

"Tchach, come off it, Squeeb! _Besides_, I invited some other peeps too y'know."

"Oh yea?"

"Yea. A certain… I dunno, _red-head_ is coming…"

"Kim!"

"No, I mean her Mother. _Of course_ Possible. With all the things going on, you might get a chance to approach the girl," Gil over exceeded his nonchalance, "Maybe… get a conversation going… maybe…"

"Oh, please," Wally rolled his eyes, "She _hates_ him. As soon as she sees Ron approaching her, she'll shimmy on elsewhere."

" '_She'll__ shimmy on elsewhere_,'" Gil viciously mocked Wally's accent.

Before he could say anything else, Felix interjected with his agreement. "It's true though," he said doubtfully, "I don't really think she'll listen to him if she hasn't been willing to do so already. I mean, c'mon, a party isn't gonna change her mind set."

Ron hit his head on the table counter. "Thank-you for your support!"

Yet again Gil rolled his eyes, "Please, don't you think I know about tampering with people's drinks by now?" But as soon as he said this, he clamped a hand over his mouth, eyes wide.

"IT WAS _YOU_ WHO SPIKED MY DRINK AT BRICK'S PARTY!" Ron hollered, colour rising to his cheek, grabbing the attention of a few students around him (but not Kim's).

"Hey, hey, calm down, Ronnie," still smiling evasively, Gil uneasily backed away from Ron's shotgun eyes and held up defensive hands. "I thought it was _Kim's_ cup, not Wally's!"

This did not succeed in calming Ron down. However, Felix seemed to have acquired a knack for calming Ron down and had to reach up for his shoulders, he was now towering high, to bring him back into his seat.

Calming down, Ron groaned, "The pictures circulated for _weeks_ after that."

"Look, this time, I'll get Kim's cup for sure, I promise you that."

"I _don't_ want you to get Kim's cup!" Ron declared fervently. "Just… just keep out of this ok?"

"We'll see," Gil once again rested his cheek in one hand, closing one eye. "But you'll come, right? Seriously though, a party could be a great atmosphere for approaching her. You'll never know, Ronnie."

Ron didn't respond, the fever was rising and he gasped in the rising heat. Could he be sweating? His stomach continued to churn and Ron had to lean forwards, inconspicuously wrapping an arm around his waist.

Felix responded for him, "I think it's a good idea, I'll make sure Ron comes with," he grinned.

"Good boy, remind me to give you a doggie treat," Gil said. Leaning back, he stretched, glancing at the clock on the cafeteria wall. To Ron, he said, "H'mm… Now you take care of yourself til then, y'hear? You'll have a great time, no sweat. Wally and I are gonna gander elsewhere, maybe search out my Bonnie lass, see what she's up to. Catch ya later, Squeeb; you too, Wheeler."

Once Gil and Prince Wally had left to search out Bonnie Rockwaller, Felix turned to Ron who began to notice his friend's troubling expression. Ron's face was contorted with pain or disgust, Felix couldn't tell which, and his eyes were fixated onto the table, but there was something behind those eyes… Thinking it was about the party, Felix tried to cheer Ron up.

"Don't worry, Ron. We can just go and take a look around, if we don't like, we can always head back to my place and play video games. And we won't drink anything Gil hands us, right?" Felix laughed at his own last remark.

"Mmm…" Ron replied, still looking down, his face heightening in flush.

Rufus looked up now too, he had been finishing off Ron's lunch.

Ron let out a frightening gasp when the lunch bell rang, signalling the end of Lunch. With his brewing sickness, the sound of the bell felt ten times louder than it was supposed to be. He lurched forwards and covered his mouth with a hand.

"Ok, you don't look good at _all_," Felix commented grimly, "Want me to go with you to the school nurse or something? Before the final bell rings?"

"N-no, I'm good."

Ron received a sardonic glare for that obvious lie. Quickly, Ron thought and grimaced.

"Actually, actually yea. Y'know what, I am gonna go… but, hey, you go off to the gymnasium and change into your gym uniform. I'll, um, I'll meet ya there, no big."

Adjusting the joy stick on the arm rest, Felix directed his wheelchair away from the table and swerved easily to Ron's other side. He fixated his bright, round blue eyes onto Ron's soft brown ones, making sure he had Ron's attention. "You sure, Ron? Doesn't look like you can make it-"

Another surge inside and Ron had to wipe his brow with the sleeve of his black sleeved shirt. "I've gotta go now, I'll catch ya in PE class."

Before Felix could protest, before Rufus could even leap onto his shoulder even, Ron dashed out of his chair, the chair toppling backwards to the floor in a clatter. He didn't even notice it in his flurry, but he ran straight past Kim right at the cafeteria doors. She pulled back in the whirlwind that fled past her, blinking in confusion as to what it could have been.

Behind her, Felix and Rufus were also blinking in confusion, watching Ron trail off until they could no longer see him.

"We'll meet up with Ron in the gym," Felix assured Rufus. Ron's little pet naked mole-rat hopped onto the top of the wheelchair seat next to Felix's head. With both of them deep in concern for their friend, Felix shrugged and directed himself towards the gymnasium through the crowds hoping Ron would be able to meet up with them in class.

Meanwhile, Ron took flight from the lunch room, leaving Felix behind in a quick excuse to seek the nurse's assistance. Of course that's not what Ron had in mind, however.

He couldn't stand it anymore! The growing intensity had become so heightened to the point that it was no longer bearable. It felt like hell inside the lunch room with all the heat inside him, he was sweating when everyone else was eager to dress warmly in the October weather. He had to get away… his stomach… O, how it churned in displeasure!

Keeping his head down, his bangs swayed from side to side as he streaked towards the nearest boy's room, not even bothering to see where he was going. He felt so_ sick_… Every day now, every day his fevers and sickness worsened unrelentingly. Ever since that day he and Kim stayed home on Monday with their hands still stuck had he been experiencing flu-like symptoms. Ron just felt as if he was catching a little something that was going around and it'd be gone no-problem.

_Yes_, problem. It had been weeks! He sobbed, and it never cleared away and inside he would feel like vomiting, with his face a pale almost white in his flush.

This was one such time, but this… it had to be the worst. Because now… he couldn't hold it in. He thought bitterly of the irony of how it was happening after he ate.

_Kim_. Now as Ron tore down the hallways, not caring who he shoved by, he remembered catching her eye accidentally that morning as he took his seat in their before-school class, Political Science. Her look… it had been like all the other times he caught her eye. There was a moment of brief confusion and then that glare of hers; that cold unforgiving glare. Unforgiving!

_Weeks…_he thought embittered._ It's been freakin' _weeks_ since our hands detached from one another and yet nothing ever changed between us. C'mon, we were supposed to be growing _together_ not apart!_

All of this was coming back to him again as he gasped for air, for cool as his temperature rose and his stomach hissed cruelly.

Launching himself into the room, he didn't even care to take notice if anyone else was in there (there wasn't). Immediately he tore into an open stall and heaved himself forwards, retching into the toilet.

He coughed violently, his entire body racking with the effort. Suddenly, he felt so small and weak, ready to just give in. His body finally giving in and his mind a torrent flurry of depressive thoughts of Kim…

He just couldn't _take it_ anymore, he wanted to just grab Kim and tell her to stop being such a- Again Ron's body shuddered and he leaned over the toilet again, spluttering and clutching his thin, unstable stomach. If ever he needed Kim it was now, he wanted her by his side, rubbing his back and soothing him with her sweet words. If not as a… a someone who liked him more than a friend, then just as a friend. As his best friend.

_Please, Kim… at least grant me that. Let's just be best friends again if you don't like me like that. I'll be happy with that…_

But she wouldn't because she didn't _care_. If she happened to walk past him as he vaulted himself over the toilet in pain and dismay, she would just glare and continue on her way, hugging Josh's arm tightly. Ron could see all this so clearly in his mind's eye.

Ron let out a sob, as he fell apart. His stomach gave another lurch and again he emptied himself forwards. Everything was just getting worse and_ worse_… tears flowed down Ron's freckled cheeks, the school bell ringing for class sounded above his head, but his senses were dumbed down by his break-down and he decided he just didn't care.

Ron hunched over, his eyes closed, tears spilling down as his teeth chattered, waiting for another upheaval to come as it surely would.

Why couldn't Kim just keep her stupid promise to him? Why couldn't she just _listen_ to him? Was that so hard? To _listen_ to Ron? He didn't know what to feel inside anymore, all of this was so unfair. So _stupid_.

Well, he thought angrily, yes, it was anger he was feeling, then he _would_ go to that party this Friday. He would go and do everything he could to meet up with Kim. Kim wasn't listening to him at school, not with _Mankey_ hanging around her all the time, then he would attempt at the party. Gil was right; it could be the perfect atmosphere.

Ron's teeth chattered again and he spluttered once again into the toilet. He feebly reached for the handle and flushed the toilet, coughing and gasping as he slid back down to the floor, resting his back against the metallic walls. Closing his eyes, he rested his head back. His breathing was shaky but at least he was at a moment's peace. A moment's…

It couldn't be clear to Ron how long he spent in that washroom, coughing, spluttering and retching into the toilet. His vision was so hazy and his mind so unfocused along with the burning heat he felt with his climbing fever that sometimes he wondered if he had slipped off into a sleep here or there, only to be reawaken by his stomach's upheaval.

But it couldn't have been too long. Not longer than an hour for he was almost positive that the end-of-class bell hadn't rung out. Of course, he wasn't about to bet his life on that, what with coming in and out of consciousness constantly. He blinked rapidly, hoping to clear his blurry eyes.

Once again, Ron heaved into the porcelain but he began to notice it was less.

_Good_, he thought, _It's calming down… going away, I'll be fine_.

As if to tell him it wasn't going away without a fight, he spluttered again into the toilet, coughing. It was then he heard the bathroom door swing open, Ron attempted to silence himself, but it wasn't working. His body shuddered and wracked, and he wet coughed repeatedly.

"Whoah, dude, are you alright in here?" came an all too familiar voice.

Ron froze. Except for his stomach muscle which emptied some more, but again, less. Thankfully.

_Go away_, Ron spat savagely. _Get out of here! I don't want _you_ near me._ Ron was sitting on his feet, and he shifted himself with a fierce agitation at the sound of the person's voice.

"Hey, go get Mr Barkin!" Josh alerted someone who must have also been with him; the sound of feet running down the hallway slowly diminished. Ron wished those were _Josh's_ feet.

But Josh's feet came closer, much too close for Ron's comfort. Still hunched over and clutching his stomach, Ron narrowed his eyes when he spotted Josh's sneakers approaching underneath the bathroom stall door. Then there was a knock on his cubicle.

"Are you alright?" Josh repeated with concern, Ron could only sneer. "Look, Frank went to fetch Mr Barkin, ok?"

Ron instantly cursed himself when he realised that in his flurry to reach the toilet, he hadn't locked the cubicle door behind him. But it was too late, Josh, with all his concern and sickening good-will, tentatively opened the door right when Ron had been making a mad scrabble to reach the lock.

Ron fell backwards in his stun, one hand still clutching his slowly soothing stomach and the other propping himself up from behind. He recoiled at the sight of his nemesis, his rival.

Josh, too, recoiled in shock to the source of the hacking to be Ron Stoppable. Ron had no idea how much Kim divulged to Josh about what happened between them. All Ron really knew was that Josh knew Ron and Kim were no longer friends, the _whole_ school knew it. How could they not when once the sight of Kim and Ron together was as natural and as common as Mr Alliberg's toupee? Or, for those who weren't attending Middleton High, as common as nachos and cheese, but maybe you had to be Ron to understand that last analogy.

In any case, Ron's mind was still a commotion with not knowing _what_ to do when Josh stood stunned, standing in the cubicle doorway. Or maybe Ron was worried more on what _Josh_ would do. Would he beat him up? Ron couldn't say he wouldn't expect it.

It felt like forever until Josh finally decided on an action. Ron was absolutely perplexed beyond all belief, it was almost as if Josh was speaking another language to Ron, but it was only a hand; a hand which he was offering him, to help him up to his feet. Ron looked down at the hand, his confounded expression quite clear upon his face. He didn't get it. Was this a trick?

Josh attempted a friendly smile, "You ok? Or do I take it you're mute?"

Inwardly, Ron scowled and made a rude-worded retort but hid his ill feelings towards Josh off of his face.

"It's just a hand," Josh smirked after Ron must have stared down at it for too long. "No fortune-telling, please." Again, he offered his hand, placing it closer to Ron.

Looking up at Josh, Ron frowned and studied him. Didn't he hate him too? Not that Ron cared, but he had lied to Josh and sent him death glares on his and Kim's return day to school on Tuesday. And didn't Kim tell him anything? Didn't she ever rant on and on about Ron and what a loser he was?

Finally, Josh reached out and took Ron's hand that had been clamped to his stomach and pulled him up to his feet. Ron wobbled slightly, not only at the fast movement in which he took to his feet, but for the fact that he was still slightly nauseous. To Ron's further bewilderment, Josh helped to steady Ron until he had a firm grip on the cubicle door to stand on his own.

"There," Josh said, "Do you think you're gonna be alright? Mr B's on his way over here, but if you're feeling real badly, maybe I should help you to the nurse."

Ron's expression still hadn't changed. Clinging to the cubicle door, Ron finally spluttered, with a tint of aggression, "Why are you helping me?"

Ron noticed Josh's smile fade slightly, but he fought to keep it on his face. "Frank and I came to clean out some of the pottery supplies," (Ron noticed them lying on the bathroom counter,) "Before the bell rings for next class."

"Yea, ok, sure, but that doesn't explain why _you_ are helping _me_."

Josh gave a small laugh, "Because you needed help."

"You hate me. So does Kim."

"Hate's a pretty strong word," the artist countered.

"Oh? Ok, so you guys don't like me."

Josh laughed louder, "I'm guessing this means you wouldn't help me if the situation was reversed?"

Ron made no response.

Josh laughed again, which softened and he said more seriously, "Look, I don't know everything that happened between you and Kim, but I do know she's really upset about what happened. You guys have been friends for so long; it's a horrible thing to just throw that away." Seeing Ron's face still masked with suspicion, Josh said, looking into Ron's eyes, "Ron, just because I'm dating her doesn't mean I don't want you two to be friends again."

Ron flinched, again an expression of confusion upon his face.

"Whatever happened can't be worth throwing away your entire fourteen years of friendship. You can't believe what some people would do to have a friendship like you had with Kim." Josh shook his head, "There's no reason I should feel hostility towards you, none that I know of anyway."

"She won't listen to me!" Ron blurted out before thinking.

Again, Josh shrugged. "No-one can force her, but-"

"So- what? 'Be patient'? 'Give it time'? It's been a freakin' _month_," Ron snarled. Suddenly, he fell a couple of steps backwards and with his sudden surge of rage came his stomach's protest, but he caught a hold of himself.

"I'm not claiming to have the answers, Ron," Josh replied, still smiling.

Ron scowled, turning away form Josh, still feeling hatred towards him for stealing Kim away, for not treating her the way he would. He didn't have to take this from Josh. The boy was so clueless. Josh didn't know what had been blooming between Ron and Kim before their tragic ending the night their hands had been separated.

After standing in silence, Josh only shrugged. "You asked me a question, so I answered. I'm just telling it from my POV, that's all."

_Your POV means nothing to me_, Ron thought darkly. _I don't want you here comforting me with pity, I want Kim here…_

"STOPPABLE!" Both boys were rattled out of their minds when the bathroom door tore open and the formidable form of Mister Barkin stood, filling up the entire doorway space in his usual brown suit.

Mr Barkin marched into the bathroom and up to Josh and Ron, followed by a very petrified looking Frank.

"Stoppable," Mr Barkin growled when approaching Ron. He winced before the permanent substitute teacher, "I hear you've been injured."

"I, uh, just a sickness," Ron faked a grin with much embarrassment layered underneath. "I think I'll be fine…"

"Come with me to the Nurse's office, she's sick with the flu, so I'm filling in for her to-day-"

"Nothanks, I'llbeok!" Ron's fake grin broadened as he skittered himself around Barkin and out of the bathroom followed by a hastening Frank. Only Josh was left with Barkin who cringed when the burly teacher gave him an icy glare.

-ø-

With a huff, Ron closed his eyes while finally shutting closed his History text book when the end of school bell rang out overhead.

Truthfully, Ron _hadn't_ been ok, but with Barkin temping as school nurse, he would have been ok if his head had been securely tucked under his arms for safe keeping. After escaping from the boy's room, the school bell had sounded out and Ron headed off to History class with a sigh. On his way, he met up with Felix who returned Rufus to him and expectantly inquired as to his health. Ron lied through his teeth that he was alright and of course Felix didn't buy this but luckily they had minimal chatting time as the final bell would ring and, unlike Ron, Felix cared if he made it to class on time.

Now, as Ron's fellow classmates packed up their books around him, Ron did the same slipping his textbook and binder away into his pack which had been with him all along. But unlike most of the other students in his class, Ron's school day was not yet done.

He was going to cheer practice.

That's right. Ron now walked out of the classroom, heading towards the gymnasium with his purple, red and yellow uniform sweats already packed away in his bag.

He had been attending cheer practice ever since the break-up, except for Monday. The Monday after the Friday when he overheard Kim talking to Josh those painful five weeks ago… (his chest tightened). That had been one of the worst times for him and he couldn't bear to show his face at cheer practice, not when none of the cheerleaders where on his side. Over that weekend, Ron had seriously considered quitting as role of mascot. Without Kim on his side, the job lost its lustre and he could no longer stand the critical, scrutinizing glares of the other cheer squad members no matter how much he convinced himself he didn't care what other people thought of him.

Yes, Ron had been all ready to call it quits, but Tuesday changed all that. Well, to be more specific, _Tara_ changed all that. That Tuesday morning while he and Rufus tended to themselves, storing books away in his locker, the innocently beautiful girl with the curly platinum blonde hair had approached him with a kindly face, something Ron wasn't used to seeing anymore.

"Hi, Ron," she had said timidly, holding her own hands in front of her. "I wanted to ask you something, cos I heard about what happened…"

"What?" Ron remembered asking quizzically.

Tara's eyes shifted nervously, "About what happened to you and Kim."

"Oh, that."

"Well, you weren't planning on quitting the cheer squad, were you?"

Ron definitely recalled being taken aback by her inquiry. He felt her to be psychic that she should ask him that when it had been something he had been mulling over all weekend, among other things.

"Sorta," he responded.

"But you can't!" Tara had rebuked, looking more worried than what was necessary. "You shouldn't," she said more placidly. "Besides, don't you need an extra-curricular activity for your college application?"

"Well, yes," Ron shrugged, glancing at Rufus on his shoulder. "But I can go elsewhere, I guess. Like… maybe the chess club…" but he blanched at the idea. The only place he felt like he belonged was on the cheer squad as Middleton High's Mad Dog mascot, but how could when he would he no longer had Kim on his side?

Tara shook her head, "Why, Ron?" More heatedly, "Just because of Kim?"

"Kinda, I mean, c'mon, she doesn't really like me much anymore. And with her and Bonnie and everyone else, I don't really have a place there anymore. What can I do?" He had shrugged.

"You can stay on the team!"

Ron had sighed, beginning to grow irritated, "But I told you, _I can't_. 'Sides, Kim's the cheer captain, if she wants my butt off court, she can do that."

"Well, I won't let her," Tara said softly.

Ron had tilted his head in confusion, completely baffled. "Huh?"

"And you were wrong when you said no-one on the squad wants you on the team, Ron. _I_ do. We need a mascot! And you're so funny, you're perfect for the job!" she had brandished her arms at him, smiling.

Ron felt his depressive mood begin to lighten at the sight of her kindly smile. The smile had reminded him of Kim's almost…

"You… you really think so?" he asked.

Tara nodded vigorously, "I do! And I _won't_ let Kim kick you off the squad, as long as there's one nay-sayer, she can't do it!" she giggled.

Ron felt himself smiling inside, and he did so. "Cool, maybe I will! 'Sides, you're right when you say I need that extra-curic on my application."

And thus Ron attended practice ever since, improving his Mad Dog routine for the Regionals this coming Monday. At first, Ron had felt like he had made a stupid decision when Kim glared at him the first time he entered the gym in his uniform. Her glare was defiant and absolutely incredulous at his daring. But, thankfully, Tara had been true to her word ever since. She hung out with Ron, and was, well, a very good friend to him.

It wasn't just at practice either. Sure she liked to hang with her friends, Bonnie and Hope during Lunch just as Ron liked to hang with Felix, but she would also interact with him when they met in the hallways and in class and afterwards. At first, Ron wondered if her kindness towards him was some sort of pity (which would have disgusted him) but she wasn't. She genuinely wanted to be his friend and he soon found himself on equal ground with her.

Truly, Ron found himself actually looking forwards to cheer practice now, instead of the regular feeling of dread, and all because of Tara.

But of course, Ron wasn't always active during cheer practice. He was still sick, and he knew he couldn't exert himself. Ron would do what he could when he could but when he felt his temperature begin to rise, or his stomach churn, he'd break on the bench waiting for his spell to calm down. Some days he couldn't practice at all and knew he couldn't before reaching the gymnasium. But Kim took attendance and even if he couldn't practice every time, at least his attendance was accounted for.

After picking up his gym clothes, Ron ambled past the other students pushing him by, all eager to reach the front school doors and escape from the school building. Ron walked against them all towards the gymnasium where he could change into his uniform.

"Ron!" Tara called out from behind. She trotted up to him in her baby-blue sweater and jean pleated skirt. "Have you been working on your routine? You said were working out some things last time."

Ron nodded, "Yup, if you ever see anything outta sync or whatnot lemme know, kay?"

"Sure!"

"How about you? Kim was kinda harping on you last time."

Tara giggled, embarrassed, "Yes! When I went home, I worked on it _all_ day. I think she'll notice my improvement. Do you think we'll win the Regionals next week?"

"Sure, why not?" Ron replied cheerfully.

"I dunno, but Kim's been kinda picking at my dancing lately. I _thought_ I was doing ok, but I'm worried I'm falling behind. Kim knows these things, that's why she's head cheerleader! If she notices any faults… well, I'm worried I'll drag the team down!"

Ron pulled his head back, looking fully at Tara. "C'mon, Kim's just a bit of a perfectionist. I saw you dancing yesterday and it looked great!"

"Y-you did?" She tugged at the turtleneck of sweater, pulling his higher up on her neck.

"Yea, and, whoah, if you practiced yesterday too at home, then you must have really improved 'n stuff. No big, don't sweat it."

A smile spread across Tara's fair complexioned face, "Wow, Ron, thanks! Cool, I think you're right!"

Ron reached the boy's changing and said a brief farewell to Tara. Of course, the boy's changing room was completely empty and the slate blue walls dimly colouring the surroundings reflected Ron's inner mood. Sure, Tara was great to talk to and he appreciated her but… she was no Kim. Not yet.

As Ron changed, he could hear wordless chatter from the girls coming through the walls from the changing room next to his. He strained his ears to try and distinct Kim's voice pattern, but it was useless.

Scooping Rufus back up and into his new yellow pocket, he left his bag on the sofa and walked out of the change room. Some of the girls were already changed, Crystal, Jessica, Bonnie and Hope, who were performing their stretches.

As soon as Bonnie spotted Ron, she sent him a malevolent grin. Although she still rivalled with Kim and was steaming mad at her for 'stealing' Josh from her after Bonnie thought they had broken up for good (Ron included), she still took pleasure in how Kim treated Ron. It seemed to be the only time she would side with Kim, but at least the two were still rivals. At least _some_ sense was left in this crumbling world of Ron's.

As usual, Ron ignored Bonnie and sat himself on the bench. To-day was one of those days where he wouldn't be able to join in, he could tell. Not when he had been vomiting for the first time from his sickness earlier. No, he was just here for his attendance, besides, it was always fun to watch the girls dance. Of course, it had been more enjoyable when Kim actually _liked_ him.

Leaning back, he waited until Kim emerged with the other girls, Tara, Liz and Marcella, all dressed identically in their purple cheer uniforms, bare midriffs and short skirts. Before joining in for the stretches, Tara turned and waved eagerly to Ron and he responded with a simple smile.

Distinctively, he and Kim exchanged a look. Her eyes rested on his, no specific expression recognisable but, as it usually did, it turned downcast and she appeared frustrated with the sight of him. He sighed.

When the girls had finished their stretches, while talking the entire time among themselves like back in the change room (except for Kim who had taken not to talk during her stretches anymore unless a girl spoke directly to her), Kim clapped her hands to rally them all together around her.

"Ok, girls," Kim said, her voice relatively normally, clashing with her expression she had given Ron, "We all know Regionals is _this_ Monday, that leaves two more days after this for practice, plus the weekend-"

"Two?" Hope asked, crossing her arms and looking bemused. "We don't practice on Friday."

Before Kim could answer, Crystal answered, "No duh we're practicing on Friday! It's the _Regionals_ coming up! We need to fit in all the practice we can get!"

"Exactly," Kim confirmed, nodding her head and a couple of the girls groaned, including Hope.

"But what about Gil's party?" Jessica asked.

"Perhaps Kim didn't _get_ an invite," Bonnie smirked, swishing her hip to one side. "Maybe she's jealous and wants to punish us _popular_ girls who did get invites."

Ron found himself smiling as Kim snorted in reply to Bonnie. "We _all_ got invites, _Bonnie_," she sneered. "But we still need practice if we want to win Regionals, especially _you_." (Bonnie sneered.) "Practice will only be half an hour so we'll still have lots of time to get ready for the party, ok?"

"I guess," Hope mulled, not looking pleased.

"Hey, if you're on the team you have to be willing to _attend practice_," she said those last words with extra emphasis, and to Ron, it felt like she was directing those words at _him_.

_I _am_ attending practice_, he growled back in his thoughts, scowling. But he knew she was referring to his lack of participating, not that she _wanted_ him to participate.

"Alright girls, lets get ready," Kim said finally and the girls broke up into their usual positions.

Before running to her point, Tara skirted over to Ron on her tip-toes. Hurriedly, she said, "Are you not feeling ok again, Ron?"

Ron shook his head, "I think I'll be sitting this practice out."

"Oh, ok," she glanced back behind her at the girls readying themselves. "I hope you feel better soon!"

Kim looked up from the stereo, not too far down on the bench from where Ron sat. "Tara!" she said suddenly.

Whipping her head around, Tara turned to Kim and called, "Yes?"

"Come here."

"See you soon, Ron!" she hastened away to where Kim stood, looking nettled with her arms crossed and tapping her right foot.

From Ron's standpoint, he could still hear her and Tara's converse.

"Did you work on your routine?"

"Oh, yes! I did all day yesterday. I think you'll notice an improvement."

"Mmkay," Kim replied, and again her eyes darted over to Ron and he recoiled slightly as he looked back into hers. Then she abruptly focused them back onto Tara, "Well, go on, I'll set the track up."

"Kay!" Tara scuttled off to her point, along with the rest of the girls, some of whom were growing impatient.

"_To-day_ maybe?" Bonnie barked.

Kim scowled and pressed on the music and dashed off to her lead point where she waited for the music to begin.

Just as before, the routine was performed easily and skilfully. Ron watched the other girls surrounding Kim begin to dance to the swaying beats of the music and once the vocalist started to sing, Kim lifted her head with a huge smile and began to dance.

Kim lifted her arms with pom-poms into the air while her feet danced diligently; she twirled around while doing a complex routine with her arms, waving the poufy pom-poms from side to side. Kim leapt for a split while Marcella and Crystal behind her did some cartwheels in unison with Sarah and Tara on the other side.

Kim joined the others and their dancing all became one, with their head cheerleader in the middle. The girls twirled, leapt and shimmied in perfect unison, there was no way the girls would loose the Regionals, Ron thought. He would be sure to have his own Mad Dog routine perfected by then, sickness or none. If he won for the mascot division, Kim might take more fondly to him…

Their short skirts swishing on their hips, spun and twirled along with the girls who wore them. Kim broke off from the rest to her head point for her last dance, the girls around her complimenting her rather than distracting the viewer from her dance. Ron watched glowing inside as everything his ex-best friend did was pure perfection.

Eventually the pyramid began to form, Tara, Jessica, Liz and Hope together at the bottom, then the rest and finally Kim back flipped flawlessly onto the top, her hand covered in the pom-pom shooting straight into the air with a triumphant grin across her face right as the music ended.

"That was _excellent_," Kim exclaimed, looking down at the girls below her; she lighted down so the rest of the girls could break the pyramid. "If you perform like this on Monday, we're bound to win!"

The girls stood around her, nodding and smiling with themselves, except for Bonnie who glared callously at Kim, probably steaming mad that she wasn't in point.

"Right now I want to run you girls through, just to make sure since I can't see everything while performing myself," Kim informed, hands on hips. "The rest of you girls can take seats on the bench or practice on the other side of the gymnasium. Right now I want to test run Tara and Jessica." Kim clapped her hands together and the rest of the girls dispersed for the other side of the gym except for the two girls called upon by Kim.

Kim made her way towards the stereo and started the music. On her way back, Kim's eyes darted from Tara to Ron and she held Ron's eyes for a moment before focusing her attention onto Tara and Jessica who began their paired routine.

Ron was too busy watching the girls dancing with Rufus now on his shoulder as Kim's eyes once again darted on his, noticed him watching the girls.

"Tara!" Kim called, walking forwards and the girls stopped dancing while the music continued.

"Y-yes?" Tara asked and Jessica wiped her brow with her arm.

Kim's voice sounded somewhat constricted and rigid. "You said you practiced?"

Tara frowned, "Yes, I practiced _all_ day yesterday! Didn't you notice any improvement?" he voice fell with disappointment in herself.

"Uh, a bit, but your cartwheel was lopsided," Kim replied brusquely. "And you're out of sync with the music."

"She is?" Jessica asked, stroking her chin with her pom-pom. "Then I must not be doing good either…"

Kim's voice rose in unexplained agitation, "Whatever, look, just practice more, ok, Tara? You don't want to bring us down on Monday, do you? Everyone else seems to have mastered their routine but you."

Tara looked downcast.

Tapping her foot in discomfort, Kim looked fidgety. "Alright," she turned and called to the rest of the girls, "Next group, please. Marcella and Crystal!"

Marcella and Crystal who had been practicing their routine on the other side of the gym jogged towards Kim as Jessica went to join the rest of the girls. Tara, however, was making her way to the bench, towards Ron.

"Aa, Tara?" Kim called and the curly blonde-haired girl twirled around.

"Yes, Kim?"

Kim frowned, plainly nettled. "Where do you think you're going? You should be joining Jessica in the practice. Like, didn't you hear what I just said to you? I was talking to _you_, not Jessica."

"Sorry, Kim!" Tara squealed and shuffled over to join Jessica, waving a small frantic good-bye to Ron.

Ron held Kim's eyes in confusion. Kim cautiously placed her hands gingerly on her hips as she returned Ron's gaze with what appeared to be uncertainty. She looked uncomfortable or troubled, not angry and sneering as per usual. Ron softened his questioning eyes, he wished she would talk to him instead of sending him looks with her eyes. Kim cast her head towards the two girls now approaching for their test run, but before they reached her, Kim returned her eyes to rest on Ron. It was odd, they flickered to Tara, back to Ron, then in a flash, her eyes switched to frustration and she greeted Crystal and Marcella.

"Ok, girls; let me start the music."

Only a couple of suggestions here and there for these two girls, their performance was down pat, but Kim lightly suggested they work on it looking less mechanical and more flowing. 'Put more heart into it,' Kim had suggested. Clapping her hands, Kim called over Bonnie and Liz.

"I think you'll find _my_ performance to be perfect," Bonnie announced smugly to Kim and stretched her arms before the music started.

Ron could tell Kim didn't want to admit it, but Bonnie's performance was done well. But Kim couldn't resist the nerve to nitpick at _something_.

"Maybe try to make your dance look more like cheerleading rather than a street slapper waving in guys," Kim retorted to her rival contemptuously.

Liz giggled and Bonnie growled deviously. She flipped her hair with her pom-poms, "You're just jealous that I _have_ something to shake!" And she stomped off across the gymnasium to gossip with Hope and Tara. Not that Hope had long to gossip, up next was her routine with Kim.

When Kim started the music, together the two began to dance, Kim keeping her eyes open to carefully watched Hope beside her. Like the practice run, Kim was once again beautifully flawless as Ron looked on. When they had finished Kim concluded that Hope was on top of everything and she had done stunningly well.

Kim rallied the girls once again and declared that they practice again altogether. Starting the music, the girls delved into their dancing once again.

At first, Ron was slightly baffled to hear the now unfamiliar _beep beep beep-beep _of the Kimmunicator coming from Kim's school bag that was cascaded aside among the other bags of the cheerleaders. It had been so long since he had heard those series of beeps, he recollected, in fact, with all that had been going on, Ron had forgotten about missions altogether. He had an inclination to reach into Kim's bag and pull it out when he halted himself. There was _no_ way he could go into Kim's bag without permission now.

The Kimmunicator continued to beep and Ron grew nervous. The impulse to answer Wade was growing inside him, but he wouldn't… Kim wouldn't be happy with him if he did so. He thought about calling out to Kim who was dancing about the gymnasium, practicing the routine, probably deep in concentration. With the music blaring, she probably couldn't hear it.

Ron began to stand up, but no, Kim would also not take kindly if he interrupted the practice in session. He sat back down, shifting uneasily with his confliction.

Eventually, Ron couldn't take it anymore. Nervously, he walked forwards, but still kept his distance between him and the dancing cheerleaders.

"Hey, KP…" Ron said, softly at first. This was the first time he was attempting verbal contact with her since they tore apart all those weeks ago. His voice, for some reason, felt very rusty, like he hadn't used it in decades.

Waiting for her response, it never came. She didn't even hear him. His voice hadn't been loud enough over the booming music coming from the stereo behind him. Again he called, this time, louder and cupping his hands around his mouth for voice direction. Still Kim took no notice of Ron's calls. With frowned brows, Ron dwelled if maybe she was _choosing_ not to hear him. But no, although she was capable of such an act, the music really was much too raucous.

With no other option, Ron headed towards the stereo and promptly shut it off. Before he could call out to Kim again, countless groans issued from the cheerleaders.

"Aww!"

"Hey!"

"Ron!"

"What do you think you're doing!" Kim blurted out, hands holding her pom-poms resting on her hips, a sharp, critical look in her apathetic eyes. "You can _so_ not just break up our routine like that! It was _finally_ going right, why do you always have to ruin everything!"

Ron shrunk back from her flare, but he caught Tara's worried expression as she stood off in the distance behind Kim. Clearing, his throat, Ron readied to speak, but the Kimmunicator beeped again and this time Kim heard it.

"Ugh, and there's the Kimmunicator! Thanks a lot, _Ron_," Kim snarled, dropping her pom-poms.

Dishevelled, Ron slumped his shoulders in bitter defeat as Kim marched off to answer the Kimmunicator. Everything he said could only spark anger directed at him in Kim. What good would a stupid party do?

The girls dispersed to chat among themselves as Kim went to answer Wade and Ron headed back to his spot on the bench, feeling the need to sit down again, the standing up had given him a short dizzy spell. (Bonnie gave Ron a completely odium look, she was sure pleased in how Kim was treating him the way Bonnie thought Kim should have treated him years ago.)

Ron smiled as Tara came to sit beside him, smiling. "Are you feeling any better?" Tara squeaked, her round blue eyes dazzling.

"A bit, heh, better than before anyway!" he replied, Rufus scampering onto his shoulder. "Thanks for asking, Tara," and he truly meant that. It was great to have a friend on his side when so many of the cheerleaders hated the sight of him and thought they were better off without a mascot.

"You're welcome!" Tara smiled back, "Did you receive an invite to Gil's party?"

"Yes, I did actually," Ron replied, "I dunno if I'm gonna go though. I mean, I thought I was but now, eh, maybe I'm not so sure."

"Say that you will! I'm going to go, it'd be great to see you there. You're so funny, you could really liven it up!"

Ron laughed with embarrassment, "Um… thanks? But we'll see. Hey… maybe I will."

Out of the corner of his eyes he spotted Kim standing with one knee resting on the bench, the Kimmunicator in hand. Although Kim was too far away for Ron to hear, and her voice was lowered, she appeared perturbed, almost as if she was having some heated discussion with her computer buddy.

Maybe he could approach her at the party… maybe she'll be in a better mood. Maybe. Ron was dearly beginning to hate that word.

"That'd be badical!" Tara chimed, clasping her hands together. "I'm going to be getting a new outfit and everything! Bonnie and Hope and I are probably gonna go to the mall to-day after school. Um… d-do you wanna come with? We could pick out something for you too!"

But Ron was barely listening to Tara. He was straining his ears to pick up Kim's conversation with Wade. For some reason, every time he saw Kim incensed or unsettled, he felt as if she was thinking or talking about him… He could hear her voice, but he was having a difficult time trying to make out any words.

Finally, Kim pressed the button on the Kimmunicator, turning it off, still looking disgruntled and defeated. She stood with her weight to one side and her arms folded as if in contemplation, she bit her lower lip. Then her eyes came to rest on him again and, much to Ron's surprise, she headed in his direction.

"Well..?" Tara asked tentatively, reaching out a hand towards Ron.

But Kim had approached and began to speak, smoothing out some non-existing wrinkles in her cheerleading skirt.

"We're going on a mission," she said abruptly; not a question, not a demand… just a statement. "Drakken's building some thing or other in the Australian outback and we need to stop him, like, now. Get changed into your mission outfit, an airplane will be ready to pick us up in ten."

Without waiting for any response from Ron, Kim strode off towards the rest of the cheerleaders, clapping her hands together for their attention.

He and Tara exchanged looks.

"Some other time then..?" Tara asked meekly.

"Um, kay," Ron replied, not really responding to her question for he hadn't actually heard her proposal in the first place.

Standing up, he grabbed his school pack from the boy's change room and raced for his locker where an extra set of his mission outfit was still kept (he and Kim always kept an extra set at school) . Behind him before he left the gym, he could hear Kim's loud and clear voice announcing that they would pick up practice again to-morrow. Nothing she said really sunk in as Ron pushed open the gymnasium doors and tore down the nearly deserted hallways towards his locker.

He was in absolute _shock_. Kim actually bringing him on a mission? Thinking hard, Ron realised it would be their first mission since, well, since the Villain's Ball. Could it be that she was finally going to listen to him? To accept him again? His heart was pounding so furiously, he felt it might explode out of his chest!

Hurriedly, Ron swivelled the dial on his metallic locker and banged the door open, rummaging through the mess for his mission clothes, Rufus had to cling with his claws to Ron's purple sweater as to not fall right off. After finding everything (the last glove was hiding in an old binder), he locked his locker, uneasily for he was holding all his clothing, and trotted off as fast as he could, swerving into the nearest boy's room.

How many weeks had passed since the Villain's Ball mission? It only hit Ron now, but Kim _must_ have gone on other mission since… So… what was finally changing her mind? Something had to make her want to bring him along on this mission.

The bathroom was empty and Ron locked himself into the wheelchair stall, stripping out of his Mad Dog uniform sweats and began to pull on his mission clothes, storing his sweat suit into his school bag.

Who cared about the stupid party this Friday—he might be able to talk to her on the plane, on the mission, wherever! Maybe she'd talk to him first…

As Ron finished, pulling on his gloves, he picked up his backpack, swinging it over his shoulder, pausing for a moment, grinning. Perhaps things would be ok after all. He wondered if maybe she hadn't read the card right away… maybe she read it_ recently_ and it changed her mind… Ron was beginning to like the word 'maybe'.

With Rufus tucked safely inside his pocket, Ron stored his backpack in his locker and fled back to the gymnasium to meet up with Kim. He really wanted to make haste like she had told him to, to impress her, of course.

Actually, Ron nearly collided with Kim as she was making her way _out_ of the gymnasium already in her mission clothes.

"Are they here?" she asked, sounding as if she was asking herself and not Ron; he frowned.

She ran down the hallways not waiting for Ron to answer or to catch up. Sighing, he swerved around and ran after her towards the front doors. As he neared the doors, he could see an airplane parked in front of the school, waiting to pick Kim up. He heard Kim give a small grunt at the fact that the airplane was already there and Ron sped up with the slight worry that Kim might actually leave him behind.

Thankfully, he caught up with her in time before Kim boarded the plane. He wondered if Kim really _would_ have left him behind..? No. He refused to think that. She must be changing her inner opinion of him if she was bringing him on this mission!

Boarding the plane, the pilot was already speaking to Kim: "-If you haven't had fixed our last turbo engine before we hit the ocean!"

"No big, I'm sure anyone on board could have slipped through the port window and fixed the engine while the plane was spiralling downwards to our deaths! I'm just glad Ro-" she stopped in mid-sentence while Ron stopped in front of a row of seats about to take his seat.

"It was no big," Kim continued, her voice low and distant. Kim didn't notice the pilot's inquisitive look as she turned away, brooding.

To Ron's amazement, Kim came to sit beside him and buckled her seatbelt, preparing for take-off.

Once they were in the air, Kim pulled out the Kimmunicator in one hand and began to click away at it, her chin resting on her fist.

Ron wasn't sure if he should talk with Kim, half of him was still waiting for her to speak first. Turning to the window, Ron watched a few birds and clouds go by but he rapidly lost interest in this so-called 'scenery'.

Fidgeting, Ron placed his feet on the seat in front of him, sinking into his seat and looking once again at Kim who still seemed solely interested in whatever the Kimmunicator had to offer her. After much more time passing (hours?), he became impatient for Kim's converse and impulsively decided to talk with her.

"So," Ron spoke, attempting an old trademark Ron smile. "Got any details on the mission?"

A pause. "I told you already," Kim didn't look up from the Kimmunicator that she was tapping away at, browsing some information or website or other.

Ron frowned, but kept his smile, "Just thought you might have gotten any more down-lo on the mission, is all," he shrugged light heartedly.

A grunt was her response. At this Ron couldn't help but peer at her inquisitively. He wanted to inquire about her sudden wanting to bring him on the missions but wasn't sure how to go about it.

"Y'know," he said casually, "It's great to be on a mission with you again," he turned to face her.

This time she gave no response, but… her brow knotted ever so slightly, Ron noticed. As if she was troubled; Ron bit his lower lip. Wasn't there anything he could say that would spark a sense of firm ground between them? Maybe Ron should talk to her now about That Night—it wasn't exactly his _favourite_ topic, however.

"I haven't talked to you in awhile, how've you been 'n stuff lately?"

Kim immediately grew rigid and she set her eyes staring hard straight ahead, no longer focusing on the Kimmunicator.

Ron decided to try again, "Have ya been up to much?"

Abruptly, Kim shivered violently, arching her back. "Just _stop_," she snapped. "Just… _don't!_" she seemed to wail that last word like she was in pain. Suddenly she swirled her head to look at Ron, her eyes actually appearing frightened. Ron was _so_ taken aback, he recoiled in confusion. Barely a split second later, Kim's frightened look changed to frustration, her eyebrows narrowing at him.

Turning her head away from him sharply, she shivered again and buried herself back into the Kimmunicator, but it was obvious that her mind was not focusing on the small, hand-held super computer.

Lifting his head slightly and continuing to observe Kim, Ron didn't know what to say or do. What had he done wrong? What had she found fault in? He was just attempting to talk with her and she found it so disturbing…

Disenchanted, Ron turned his head back to the window and fixated his eyes not on the clouds passing by, but his own reflection staring back at him.

She still thought him a horrible person just because she misheard his thoughts and found the package in his pocket which he hadn't really been planning to use anyway. How could she count that against him versus all that he'd done for her? All that they'd done together?

_Because what she thought she heard my thoughts. And thoughts don't lie. Like when she thought she loved Mankey._ Now it was Ron's turn to shudder. When would this all end? When! It was one horrendous nightmare! One that Ron was determined to escape… —He glanced at Kim—_with_ her holding his hand. In this he was most adamant.

-ø-

They had been walking some time now since they left the airport and travelled in a small rambling jeep into the outback. The Australian sun above them was positively _blazing_ and scorching them unmercifully, Ron panted as he followed Kim who was looking down at the map on the Kimmunicator. Both of them were so hot that they could only walk by shuffling their feet in small increments. Ron's shoes constantly kicked up yellow dirt clouds which thickened against his pants, dulling the grey that it normally was. Lucky Rufus had sought shelter inside his pant pocket.

"Kim… why would Drakken be all the way out here?" he asked with his tongue dry in his mouth. He ran his tongue against his lips as he had done countless times already. "Where are we going?"

"Up there," Kim replied mechanically. She stopped, pocketing the Kimmunicator and pointed to a large dome-shaped building atop an enormous, overbearing rock face. She shielded her eyes with her gloved hand against the violent sun rays to stare up at the building Drakken had created, Ron doing the same.

"How we gonna get up there?" he asked sceptically, panting heavily.

Kim gave no answer other than strutting forwards towards the mountain.

Gasping from the heat, Ron walked after her, not bothering to run. His muscles were already weakening with every step as his body poured out the sweat. Again and again, he ran his tongue over is dry lips.

From behind, Ron noticed that Kim was indeed feeling much the same way as him. Although she walked more upright than Ron, he noticed her dragging her feet more and teetering from side to side at times. Not only that, but with her blazing red hair now dazzling in front of him, she must be attracting a lot of heat; Ron was thankful he was a blonde.

If they were this bad off now, how in the world could they battle Shego and the various Henchmen? They wouldn't have the strength!

Gasping, Ron caught up with Kim when she paused at the base of a winding slope trailing all around the rock and up to the very top where Drakken's lair resided. He leaned against the rock, panting heavily and wiping more sweat off his brow. He wondered if his fever would return… he hoped not because already his vision began to swim and off in the distance he would see water mirages caused by the cruel sunlight.

Something slapped on his glove. He knew something did for it was cool against his burning hot gloves which were dark and attracting heat, much like his black mission shirt which was the _worst_ at bringing on the heat. What hit him was… water?

It wasn't raining. Looking up, he noticed for the first time that Kim was drinking from a bottle of water that she must have withdrawn from the hip pouch attached to her belt. Ron had no water with him. He watched Kim with growing envy as she leaned back her head and gulped down the water, little trickles missing her mouth and strolling down her chin… Ron felt himself tighten and felt a whine in his throat.

He tilted his head to one side as he continued to watch Kim finish her glorious drink. Ron wasn't sure what he was expecting, but he felt himself wilt with hurt and shock as Kim merely pocketed the water bottle in her pouch and began the trudge up the slope.

Leaning back against the rock for support, Ron stared after Kim, silent. He couldn't… he… Now that, to Ron, was just plain _heartless_. He didn't know the degrees, but it was absolutely _sweltering _in heat and Ron was severely dehydrated from their walk in the Australian sun. Ron still panted for water as Kim didn't so much as glance over her shoulder to see if he was following, she kept on trekking the steep swirling climb up the mountain.

Furrowing his brows, not from anger, from absolute hurt, he forced his legs to press on after Kim, only able to go at his own pace. It upset him further that not only did she refuse to truly acknowledge him, but she refused to even help him. He needed water just like she and Kim didn't care in the least. Didn't care…

Closing his eyes tight to hold back the tears that wanted to break free, Ron pushed on up the slope and after Kim.

After what could only be hours, Kim with Ron following were nearing the top of their climb, becoming closer and closer to Dr Drakken's latest lair and who knew what awaited them there.

Sweating, Ron's leg muscles burned with every uphill climb. The higher the winding dirt road went, the steeper it became and now it was almost impossible to walk on. Now, it didn't feel like they were walking a trail leading upwards anymore, now it felt like they were forced to _climb_ with their hands and feet. Ron felt himself constantly reaching for the ground in front of him in case he should slip and fall all the way back down and around the cliff to his probable death. The climb was frightening for Ron, especially whenever one of his feet slipped on a rock underneath him and he fell back an inch or so before he clasped the ground in front of him with his gloved hands.

And he did all this with the flaring sun searing down on the two. He was sweating so profusely and his temperature was in the danger zone, although he had really no clue of knowing.

He wondered how Kim was doing but didn't have the gull to ask her. She was still ahead of him, never had she looked back at him. Every time he lifted his head to look at her back, he silently begged her to stop and offer him some of her water. She had taken breaks many times when she could while the ground was still fairly level. Ron waited with her as she drank and never did she share. It made him feel so inferior. It made him feel like crying.

Looking up, he found himself on an angle to Kim, himself closer to the edge of the trail and was thus able to see some of Kim's face. He squinted against the white sunlight and thought he saw her expression pained and her teeth gritted. He could barely see her face what with how the sun was blaring off of her firey red hair and burning brightly into his eyes. Wincing at the glare, Ron brought up a heavy-in-sweat gloved hand to his forehead in help to shield his eyes from the sun. Hissing, he squinted at Kim and then his eyes wandered past her…

Ron was rooted to the spot in terror, his heart pounded louder than he was gasping from the heat… Two henchmen and they were… Quickly, he glanced at Kim again, she was looking down! She wouldn't see it… not until it would be too late… Again his heart surged inside of him. But she might hear it… No! Clenching his teeth, Ron gathered every drop and essence of energy he had left inside and used this to bound forwards, kicking up dust that he breathed into his lungs making his way as speedily as he could manage towards Kim…

Kim's fingers were digging into the orangey-dirt ground, clinging and pulling herself forwards. She could barely see as it was, everything was so bright and absolutely _burning_, good thing she put on suntan lotion during the airplane ride. She gritted her teeth, her arm muscles aching from heaving herself upwards, wary of how her shoes could slip underneath her and loose all gripping on the dirt trail… It was when she attempted a leap forwards that she felt something collide into her from the side.

"Argh!" she grunted as the weight slammed into her and was pushing her back, back… into one of the small crevices in the rock wall beside her. She squirmed and tried to shift herself, but the weight was leaning hard into her, pressing her back into the rock behind and her hands… her hands were being pinned…

_What the..?_

Kim opened one eye and against the golden white sunlight engulfing everything, she was able to make out a black form that the rays went around and it was…

_Ron._

In a moment's fear, she felt her stomach plummet, her mouth dry and adrenaline surge within her. She even panted in fear as she looked up at Ron, she couldn't really see his face, the sunlight was too bright and his entire form was like one ominous, overbearing shadow, completely blackened. But she could feel him pressing much too hard against her, it began to dismay Kim.

Thoughts of who he was, what had slipped out of his pocket that night he had broken their friendship and what he had been after her for came flooding back to her mind and Kim began to curse herself stupidly for agreeing with Wade's 'logic' in inviting Ron on the mission. This was Kim's first mission against one of the Villains since the night of the Villain's Ball when they had all been arrested and of course needed time to break out of prison as usual. Wade had _insisted_ that she bring along her sidekick. Wade declared that even if she didn't want him as a friend, she needed him as a sidekick. Reluctantly, (and spitefully), Kim caved in. But now she began to dearly regret her decision, they weren't even _friends_ any more, why in _hell_ did she bring him along!

She squirmed more, and began to wriggle in panic, but every time she squirmed, he pressed himself closer to her and fought hard to keep her immobile.

How stupid was she? This was the perfect opportunity for him to… to…

_Oh my goodness…_ she could have started to cry when it _really_ hit her. She couldn't believe Ron was doing this, doing this to _her_. He would be able to get away with it and there was nowhere for Kim to run to, no-one to hear her screams…

"_Let go!_" she shrieked as loudly as she could, not that anyone could hear her.

Of course Ron didn't let go, he continued to apply his strength to pin her to the rock, "Stay still!" his voice sounded alarumed. Well of _course_ she wouldn't agree to this!

Still Kim fought against Ron. She wasn't going to let him get away with this! She'd fight him with everything she had. And Ron apparently was fighting Kim back with everything _he_ had. Horror dawned on Kim when she realised that _his _everything might be stronger than _her_ everything… Well, he was male, wasn't he? Plus if need be, he could always call upon his inner Mystical Monkey Power for extra strength.

She let out a sob and attempted a feeble kick at him then more determinedly, she launched forwards, aiming her gnashing teeth for his bare arm. Although her teeth missed Ron's skin, she was successful in frightening him. He pulled back from her teeth with a cry.

"_Stop_ that! Just _stay still_, ok?"

"No! Let _go _of me!" Kim's vexation turned to sobs once more and she felt her body failing, ready to just sink down to the ground and just give up. She had little energy as it was with the sun slowly absorbing her energy, there wasn't any way she could fight Ron off even if he probably had little energy himself. She let out another sob which she turned again to outrage. She was so conflicted between the two emotions.

Again she struggled against his grasp, "Let go of me you… you… you _rapist_!"

Instantly, the strength pinning Kim to the rock wall eased up. His grip on her immediately became lax. Still she couldn't see his face but she wondered if the insult she dealt him was infuriating him. Great, if he had, he sure wasn't going to show her any mercy…

_If_ he could pin her again!

Kim took advantage of Ron's weak grip and pushed against him shouting, "_I HATE_ you, get OFF!"

Kim frowned as Ron let out a gasping shout at being pushed back and then… it looked like an eclipse had blown in a torrent across Kim's vision, something had sped across the sun behind Ron; a _large_ something.

When it did speed past, for that instant that the sun had been blocked, that fleeting second, Ron's back was arched backwards and he let out a horrific yell that caused Kim to cringe in consternation for him despite his attack on her. She looked up at him, panic stricken and downright frightened, her eyes wide and her teeth gritted. When she saw it happen, it felt like slow motion, but in reality it happened in mere seconds. Something else flew into the air and against the sun, some of it splattered on Kim's glove sharply, on the back of her hand. Looking down with numb shock, she slapped her other hand to her mouth when she realised what hit her was his blood.

Ron wheeled backwards, turning around in his fall and he landed on the dirt ground. He almost fell, slipping down the rocky slope, but Ron gripped with all his remaining strength on the dirt ground to lodge himself. As soon as he unblocked Kim from the crevice, Kim poked her head out and realised what had happened.

A boulder had rolled by. She could see it rolling down the dirt path and then right off the cliff as it missed the turn. It had rolled by right at the instant when Kim had pushed Ron away from her. Kim stared down at Ron hunched over, the back of his mission sweater torn, blood on his back, his skin… oh, his skin… The boulder must have skinned his back as it rolled past when she had pushed him.

Forgetting herself, Kim stretched out an arm towards Ron. He wasn't looking at her. Ron was on his knees, holding himself as he rocked back and forth in the pain, sobbing. But quickly Kim's expression changed when he lifted his head to her, his eyes were pitiful and Kim almost fell for them. Why was she feeling sorry for Ron? The boulder had saved her.

"You _disgust_ me!" Kim snarled, kicking dirt and dust into Ron's face and eyes, he recoiled and she backed away from him, her body shaking in after thought at the near incident. "Find your own way home!" she screamed, her voice filled with emotion. Turning, Kim ran forwards, her feet slipping underneath her occasionally as she fled full-force despite the heat, adamant in putting as much distance as she could between her and Ron.

As she continued on, she heard Ron's crying. She curled her lip in disgust at the sound. Kim found that she no longer cared whether or not she had just left Ron to his death out in the Australian outback with no water or food, no way of travelling home along with his new brutal injury. Not when he had… Again she shivered and memories of her and him of long ago flooded back into her mind. Kim longed for those days… But in her heart she knew they would never return. He had become a completely different person… how willingly he was to greedily take pleasure by force from his own once best friend…

Kim was glad she hadn't stuck around any longer; he wouldn't be able to see the tears brimming in her eyes…

-ø-

Even in the safety of his own bed, Ron was still unsure how he had made it all the way home on his own… his own… He had Rufus, but no Kim. Ron shifted his eyes to Rufus who was sleeping soundlessly enveloped by his blue pillow. Ron turned his eyes back onto nothingness, looking at various items in his room, dimly lit by the dark sky streaming through the blinds of his window.

Well, he _did_ know how he managed to make it home. But it was so unbelievable now that he reflected with all the pain of his torn and bloody back not to mention the unforgiving heat beating him down to the point where giving up would have been a heavenly blessing.

Ron had sat there, rocking back and forth, the pain of his ripped flesh so fresh, the dirt in the air stung it horrendously and he sobbed continuously, always rocking back and forth, hissing from all the pain and the heat.

It felt like everything was going wrong that day for Ron, Murphey sure had a vendetta out for him, but what Ron did to deserve such torture was unknown to him.

He would die out there, Ron was sure. If not from the consuming pain, then from his own dejected spirit. She hated him. What he had done to her could only be caused by hatred. His eyes still stung and he clawed at them furiously with his dirt-covered gloved hands to try and clear out the dirt and dust Kim had kicked into them.

Somehow, Ron's will to live, and for Rufus now in front of him squeaking with upset for his owner, pressed Ron into action. Slowly, very slowly for each movement stung his back like a searing sunburn, Ron steadily made his way _down_ the path, down the mountain and across the outback.

Ron wouldn't have made it, not with the sun sucking what little reserve he had inside and with how dehydrated he was. There was no way Ron Stoppable would live to return to civilization. Truly, it would have been smarter for him to continue his hike _up_ the mountain. At least Drakken and Shego had water up there.

Yes, Ron's life would have ended if it weren't for the helicopter flying overhead. Rufus whistled Ron's attention to the above aircraft, his senses were shutting down at the time and he had barely heard it himself.

Stunned, Ron looked up, jaw dropped in unison with Rufus'. O, Ron was thankful for the whirling blades of the helicopter as it landed, blowing a cool breeze onto his weakening body, onto his dying and parched skin. But it stirred up dust and Ron and Rufus both were left to squint and cover their eyes from the copter, they couldn't see who was piloting the mechanical air beast.

When a voice called to him, Ron lifted his head from his shielding arms, squinting and _still_ he couldn't see the pilot.

There was no pilot.

"Ron!" the voice from no-where called out. "Come aboard, I'll take you back home!"

"… _Wade_?" Ron asked, perplexed.

"Yea, remember the pilot-less chopper drone from before?" Wade chuckled. "Well, when I said it was a life or death emergency, the aeronautic firm loaned it to me again. I'm piloting it here in my room."

Ron took a step _away_ from the chopper, remembering the frightening ride in it years ago. Both he and Kim had been clasping to each other in terror as Wade piloted the helicopter from continents away.

"It was the fastest way of getting to you, believe it or not," Wade continued, still no image of him. "I just piloted it here from Cali."

"… That was… fast."

"Climb aboard, I told them to load the chopper with water. Heh, I believe you'd be needing that."

Ron panted and ran his tongue over his bone-dry mouth. Eagerly, he climbed aboard, forgetting his fright of the machine in desperate need for the water that awaited him on board. From there, Wade had flown him all the way to his front door. (Well, first Ron hadbegged Wadeto stop off at the Bueno Nacho drive-through on their way to Ron's house.)

Giving a little cough, Ron snuggled deeper into the covers, pulling them up higher, up to his nose, eyes drooping. His back was curved, hunched and unbelievably sore from his injury. It stung violently again and he clenched his teeth, hissing and gripping the sheets tightly.

It wasn't just his back being skinned by the thundering boulder that had bled him that day. Ron had seen Drakken's henchmen push the tumbling boulder down before Kim had seen it, he had meant to _protect_ Kim, not do her any harm! Never! And he would certainly never… Ron buried his head into his pillow, biting his lower lip.

How could she think him even capable of such an act? Let alone capable of doing something like that to _her_. Didn't she _hear_ the boulder approaching? He had just meant to hide her in the crevice and slip himself in as well since there had been barely enough room for the both of them. Ron hadn't meant to…

That sickening feeling inside of Ron churned inside of him and he fought to keep it down. Ron remembered what had happened that lunch and how sick he had been. The ceaseless sun on that mission and the wretched heat hadn't helped his condition, but still he braved it all for Kim's sake, to help her on a mission. Ron would do anything to help Kim on a mission, even if it was at his own expense.

Coughing again, Ron sniffled, rubbing his cold nose with the comforter.

Why was all of this happening to him? It wasn't fair! Not fair at all. But he would brave it all if he would end up with Kim in the end…

His stomach churned again and he shifted under the sheets uncomfortably. Ron hoped he wasn't about to be sick again, he wasn't sure if he had the strength to carry himself to the bathroom down the hall. That and his back was absolutely splitting with pain now that he was lying down and feeling nothing else other than the pain.

How he wished Kim was at his side, cuddling with him and soothing him like she had when he had been ill on the sofa at the Villain's Ball. If Kim were here with him, everything would be alright… she'd be here and chase away his ill feeling, shoo away the pain of his back and then consume him with her warmth…

Ron's eyes flickered and he realised how alone he really was. Sure, he had Rufus but Rufus wasn't the same. Ron wanted Kim, that person who had always been there for him, to stick up for him and be his bravery.

Between his stomach and his back, Ron would be up for a rough night, not to mention there was school the following day. He wondered if Kim had made it home by now and he took a gander at his teddy bear clock. Late. How had the mission gone? What had happened? He hadn't had even bothered to inquire Wade how Kim had faired on the mission. Ron wondered all these things and he would surely slay himself if something had happened to Kim when he hadn't been there to help her.

Not that she would want his help. She'd probably mistake it for something else. As usual.

For some obscure reason, Ron reached out for his red cordless telephone and pressed his speed dial. He didn't care about how late it was or the fact that Kim probably wouldn't respond, he wanted to show that he cared anyway. Even if she didn't see it that way.

Ringing… ringing…

"Hello?" came a yawning voice on the other end; he hoped he hadn't awoken her.

"Hey, Kim," Ron spoke softly (it was the only way he could speak with his drear and pain). "How'd the mission go?"

Silence on the other end.

"Hey, did I wake you?" he continued.

Then the click and a dead-tone. She had hung up on him. Ron sighed and shut off his phone, hugging it close to him for some reason he himself did not know.

He didn't care that nothing he did worked, nothing he did Kim saw it as him attempting to show his true affections for her because he'd keep at it and eventually… _eventually_ she _had_ to see these actions for what he truly meant for them to mean.

To-morrow (or rather later that day) would be school which, to Ron, was just another day to continue his arduous journey to win Kim back.

-ø-

A few streets down, Kim was awake lying on her bed, completing some last minute homework. She had just finished her phone call to Josh when the phone had rung. Kim hadn't told Josh what happened with Ron on the mission, she couldn't do that. She just needed him to talk to, to comfort her even if he didn't know what was bothering her. Of course, her not telling him what was really going on nettled Josh and the two spewed into an exasperating mini-argument, which wasn't all that uncommon for Kim and Josh. When the phone rang, she thought it might be Josh calling back to apologise, she didn't even look at the caller ID. So when she was expecting to hear Josh's voice and instead heard Ron's, she was verily stunned into silence.

Kim couldn't believe he had the nerve to phone her, to _speak_ to her after what he attempted to do. She couldn't speak to him, she couldn't even shout at him. Why? Why would he dare phone her after his attack! Did he _honestly_ think she was going to be all sunshine and flowers with him after he had just tried to… Oh, she still couldn't say it!

How could Ron be capable of such an act! He never used to be like that… she remembered him when they were little, how timid and yet very delighted he always was. How he'd hide behind her in fright from the smallest things. She missed the Ron who she had grown up with and had been that easy-going, vivacious person, the type of person who hurting someone never crossed into his mind. Even when he was angry, Ron would always brood to himself never act out against anyone unless they were hurting _her_. It didn't make sense to her how _that_ Ron could have almost done what he had attempted that day. It completely baffled her… and hurt her beyond all measures.

She hadn't cared that she left Ron injured with no food or water or any kind of transportation at the time. She had left him to exile, left him for dead, not that she had killed him. But he deserved her abandonment, for being the _cruel_ jerk that he really was. Never should Kim have brought Ron along with her and she wouldn't have if it hadn't been for Wade arguing against her.

Kim had gone on to infiltrate Drakken's Lair, battle Shego and destroy the blue-skinned villain's evil lair. Not that it had been easy without a sidekick. In fact, everything had all been a fluke; she had been so close to capture with no-one to rescue her but at least she had succeeded nonetheless…

When Kim was asking Wade to hook her up with a ride home, her computer buddy had then inquired as to Ron's whereabouts. Caving in, Kim told Wade the story and instead of receiving the expected sympathy, Wade had gone all out on her.

"He almost raped me!" Kim declared.

"You left him for dead!" Wade countered and with much a grudge, he set up a ride home for Kim and then went about asking favours for Ron, wherever he was then. Until that phone call she had only just received, she never would have known if Ron had returned to Middleton or arriving at school.

And for some inexplicable reason, Kim found herself nagging to know.

Leaning back, Kim closed her finished homework, placing it on the floor beside her bed and slipped herself under the warming sheets of her comforter. From her bedside desk, she pulled over the little plush that she had kept sitting there for weeks now.

Kim poked the nose of the little Rabphin, placing it in front of her, looking back at it with its black beady eyes neither critical nor sympathetic. Kim had given the muffin Ron had baked for her to Monique, she hadn't wanted to accept it, but the Rabphin… she couldn't just toss it or give it away. Yes, she might have mailed it to Joss, but that's not what Kim meant when she said she couldn't be rid of the plush. She clung to it and often brought it close to her as she delved into thoughts of That Night that seemed so long ago. That Night when her and Ron's friendship and been torn to pieces.

The Rabphin was her guilty pleasure, it made her feel as if Ron was there with her, comforting her like how he would have done when she knew she shouldn't even be thinking of Ron in such a manner. For it was he who brought it upon her like this and she hated him even more.

Yes, she _hated_ him.

Not disliked; not diffident. _Hated_.

Hated how he ruined her inside. Although she still hated him, she felt lost without him and constantly drifted back to when they had been on the sofa… on her bed… the dock… and even just hanging out, the two of them on missions and being best friends.

Kim and Ron had been inseparable since Preschool, the longest they had been separated was ten days when Ron had attended Camp Wannaweep. Now… now being without him for four full weeks plus some days… Kim felt a blank, empty void inside of her.

She felt like a wandering ghost on Earth, not her usual self. Kim felt like she just barely existed, she didn't feel like she was living at all. Even her parents noticed a difference in her at home. Ron had been apart of her and now that part of her wasn't just gone, but _destroyed_.

When she felt low and depressed about what had happened, she would phone Josh or scope him out around school, being in his company made Kim convince herself that she did _not_ need Ron. That she had Josh and he was her new beginning, he was there to comfort her and be her strength should Kim desire she could no longer handle the pain on her own any longer.

But being with Josh was never the same, no matter _how_ strongly Kim forced herself to think differently. When he kissed her, it was never the same; it also felt that it was lacking something. When she kissed him back, there was no glowing feeling inside her of like when she had kissed Ron, when he had placed his lips tenderly against her own. The only time she really initiated a kiss was if Ron was watching, to show him that she didn't need him, that she could be happy without him. To show to_ herself_ that she didn't need him. Only there was no happiness. Just bland indifference.

Kim let out a moan and buried her head into her pillow. How dare Ron to this to her! She had thought that sentence a thousand times over in her mind and not once had she been able to surmise a suitable answer. Perhaps there wasn't even an answer…

Lifting her head, she rolled over onto her side, the Rabphin continuing to sit as still and immobile as she left it. She touched its nose, sighing. Reaching, up, she pulled down her plush Pandaroo and hugged it close, staring at the Rabphin and everything it represented to her.

She hated sleeping at night. Not only did it bring back memories and dwelling fests like these, but she looked to that empty spot beside her and longed for Ron to fill that spot like when their hands had been attached. She wanted him beside her, to snuggle close to, to talk with. Why couldn't Ron be_ that_ Ron anymore? Why did he do this to her just for his own pleasure?

After awhile, she had enough of these thoughts that chased after her night after night and leaned forwards, turning off her bedroom light.

Darkness. And it made no difference, still she laid awake, her eyes adjusting and fixating once more on the Rabphin. She picked it up and was about to place it on her bedside table like all the times before when she had a sudden change of mind. Instead, she drew the Rabphin close to her along with her Pandaroo and cuddled them both as she drifted off. She cuddled the Rabphin, but longed for the person who gave it to her, the one of long ago…

This longing for the old Ron and the recent memory of his attack on her that day returned to mind and she fell again into silent tears.

-ø-

It was peculiar, Ron mused, that Kim Possible wasn't even in class yet. The final bell for the first class of the day, Mathematics, had rung almost half an hour ago. While the teacher dictated the notes, Ron again turned around in his seat, the chair scraping slightly on the ground, as he surveyed his classmates to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. They weren't.

This greatly unsettled Ron. Frowning, he turned around and hunched over, staring blankly at the notes he had copied. Flicking his pen between his middle and pointer finger, Ron contemplated this news grimly then applied pen to paper to catch up in writing out the notes being written on the overhead projector. While his wrist moved automatically, swiftly, his mind delved elsewhere.

Could Kim's absence possibly relate to yesterday's disastrous mission? If it did, it couldn't have been due to an injury, at least nothing severe. After all, she was able to pick up her phone and speak (even if she only said 'hullo'). Kim hadn't even been sick yesterday nor had she shown any signs of a cold or flu.

So… what if her absence had to do with _him_ regarding yesterday! But what? Did she run away? Was she traumatized? Ron double blinked hard, staring back down at his paper, but he hadn't had done anything wrong! Kim just misinterpreted his actions… Was that enough to cause Kim to stay home from school? Had his misapprehended actions perturbed her that much?

Ron's eyes dropped in the low-lighted classroom when that specific memory came to him. The sweat running down his forehead, his weakened body straining with everything he had to impetuously pin Kim still as he heard the distant rumbling of the boulder approach them; him agonized that she would flee out onto the trail only to realise too late her mistake… Then that word she called him… it still stung, stung just as severely as his back. He doubted he'd be able to join cheer practice again later that day too.

That morning when Ron had climbed out of bed and checked his back in the bathroom mirror, he and Rufus both gasped at the sight of his mangled flesh on his back, both of them hissed and winced, but Ron more of the pain rather than the sight of his back unlike Rufus. His back had been all red and raw that morning. There were patches still where he could see blood under the skin. It was like a massive rug burn of the worst kinds. Only it had been rock, not soft carpet to tear his skin. After all, the boulder _had_ taken off layers of his skin. At least his back had ceased bleeding, but Ron predicted it could reopen at any time if he wasn't careful.

Ron had wished to stay home. When first walking that morning, he felt like a hunchback the way he ambled around, hunched over from the stiffness and pain. But he knew if he skipped school, the school office would send an automated message to his home regarding his absence and then his parents would find out… Well, they wouldn't be too happy.

Ron sighed, his mind going back to Kim's mysterious absence. Suddenly, a horror hit him.

What if she _had_ stayed home! What if she _told her parents_ her misjudgement! The abhorrence! Maybe her parents let her stay home… maybe they were going to call the police on him! Ron fidgeted in his seat. It would be his word against _Kim Possible's_! And she would never listen to him, the truth… not when she felt she had evidence versus his word.

A dawning realisation settled over Ron. No matter what he said to her, she would never listen. Not when she had 'evidence': the found package and the most damning of all—his own supposed disarranged thoughts.

Looking back down at his small writings, Ron continued the dictation now with a thick worry cloud over his head. Worry for himself, worry for Kim… He bit his lower lip, the adrenaline soaring inside him at the possible thought that he could find himself in trouble for something when he had only been trying to help…

A noise! Most of the class looked up right away along with Ron while some students preferred to finish their notes.

It was the doorknob! Someone on the other side was turning the knob… Ron's anxieties flooded back to him in a sickening rush. What if it was the police coming to get him! Ron slid in his seat eager to hide. Would he be forced to become a fugitive, have plastic surgery and a name change!

It was…

Kim!

Ron felt a wave of relief swarm over him when Kim turned out not to be the Middleton police. Just as he was swooning down in his seat in utmost relief, he sat bolt up right when it dawned on him _what_ Kim was wearing.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Kim said weakly, rubbing her arm as if she had an injury, and she probably did the way the sleeve of her mission sweater was torn.

Ron could only sit in his seat stunned like all the rest of the students to see Kim's appearance. The other sleeve of her mission sweater was absolutely gone all the way to her neck, her bra strap visible. Kim's pants were also torn, they could almost be mistaken for caprices if they weren't torn off haphazardly. Her entire outfit was laden with dirt and grunge, including her hair which was desperately crying for a brush, not to mention soap and shampoo. Kim looked absolutely bedraggled, like she had just been pulled through the mud for miles. Her eyes were heavy and she slumped in her stance.

Miss Whisp did _not_ look pleased.

"I… there was this rocker mullet freak in New Jersey and I had to go stop him," Kim explained, her voice worn. She lifted her arm feebly, the other one clinging to her knapsack on her back "I thought I could make it to school in time…"

Miss Whisp sighed heavily, "Go take your seat, Kimberly-Anne. Make sure you collect the notes from a classmate; this material will be on the test next week."

"Yes, Miss Whisp," Kim responded dejectedly.

Kim trudged down another aisle from where Ron sat. He watched her, his mouth slightly open as she took an available seat near the back of the class, one of the only available seats. She didn't even look at him this time.

Turning his head back to the front of the class, Ron was mind blown at what he just witnessed. No, it wasn't Kim's rag-tag appearance. It was that she went freak-fighting without him. Even though Ron hadn't said much on his helicopter ride home yesterday (mainly because he had slept and drank most of the time, that and he was in fresh pain) he had, however, had a little chat with Wade.

Wade had told Ron that their mission yesterday was Kim's first villain mission since practically all of the villains had been captured the night of the Villain's Ball. It was then that Wade explained that it was he who insisted Kim ought to bring Ron along on the mission. Kim hadn't decided it for herself. She never wanted him with her, which explained her attitude towards him on their airplane ride to Australia.

Ron lowered his head, consuming himself in his note-taking, flushing. He heard Kim rattling in her bag behind him, probably taking out her binder and textbook.

_The Party then…_he though miserably. _I have to go to the party…_ He felt as if it was his last chance.

-ø-

Kim was lucky that Mr Barkin hadn't been teaching Math class, she knew this as she blew strands of her dirt-laden hair from her face, walking wearily down the school corridors. She knew if he had been, that would have been a strike against her, it would have been her first strike for the month of October. Three strikes and it would have meant detention. Was it really her fault that the freaks she fought didn't care that she had _school_?

It was Lunch now and it was painful to her pride but she had suffered through not only Mathematics but Latin, English Composition _and_ Psychology class in her disgusting rag-tag state. There had been no time to rush into a bathroom to change into her fresh clothes in her bag or even to wash-up. Kim was unduly aware of students shuffling _away_ from her. It only soured her mood further.

Sighing, Kim pushed the girls washroom door open carelessly, rolling her eyes. Thankfully, the bathroom was empty. Kim dropped her bag on the counter and looked at herself in the mirror, pulling on a matted lock of hair; she stuck her tongue out.

Turning on the faucet, Kim pulled off her torn gloves and threw them into the trash. The mission… she thought as she cleaned herself at the sink, had _not_ faired well.

In fact, she had _failed_.

_Stupid Motor Ed_, the thought grudgingly, _stupid mullets…_ She had needed a distraction on her mission. There had been only one of her and for all her fighting skills, all her intelligence and bold determination, she had still failed. Kim had fought like a wildcat, spent all of her energy chasing after her foes and dodging the burning rubber of the mammoth eighteen-wheelers. At some points, Kim had been frightened she would be hit by one of the monumental beasts, the drivers all bent on smashing her delicate skeletal frame to pieces with their trucks.

Kim only had herself and it wasn't enough to stop Motor Ed from steeling the highly valuable car parts (Kim never understood what they were; only that Motor Ed was stealing them and that equalled bad). While she had been busy saving her own life, dodging, fleeing and jumping around the fearsome trucks, Motor Ed had fled with all the parts, leaving her in the dust. Literally.

Lifting her head after cleaning off the dirt from her face, Kim peered at her reflection. She would have failed yesterday too if it weren't for Henchman Number Four accidentally pressing the Self-Destruct button (he thought it was a distress call button).

She hated to admit it, she absolutely _hated_ it—but Kim wasn't stupid. Wade was right, Kim _did_ need a distraction. She did need that extra person to aid her and be there for her loyally, fighting at her side.

She didn't have that person anymore.

How many more missions would she fail? Would this go on until she found a new sidekick?

The thought struck her… _A _new_ sidekick..?_

Shaking her head, Kim checked her watch and hurried over to the wheelchair stall where she could have room to change into her clothes. She'd be throwing these mission clothes away, it was a good thing she kept extra sets at home.

Changing into her pink top with the dark pink stripe and the near creamy white cotton pants, Kim checked her watch again as she emerged from the bathroom all freshened up with her backpack now on her back. There was still plenty time left of Lunch, Kim decided to head to her locker first and exchange her morning textbooks and binders for her after Lunch ones: Chemistry and History class.

It wasn't too much of a surprise when Josh approached her, placing a hand on her shoulder. He usually greeted her this way.

"Hey, where've you been?" he kissed her briefly on the cheek.

She bristled under his touch, feeling uncomfortable. Kim sidled away from him, making him drop his arm around her. "Had to clean up in the washroom," Kim said, "Didn't hear any rumours of a hobo mucking around school, have you?"

Josh grinned and teased, "No, but I did hear one about a zombie being on the loose."

Kim blushed, rolling her eyes. "Just like that Zombie Rampant movie that came out last summer, right?" Kim recalled going to see that movie with Ron in the summer. Even though zombies weren't exactly her thing, she had enjoyed watching the movie with him back then. They had laughed and screamed joyfully, throwing popcorn in the air as they jumped out of their seat in terror, always coming close together in giddy laughter. She missed those times.

"_Zombie_ movie?" Josh asked sceptically as if the thought of seeing a zombie movie was immature or embarrassing. "Like, what, are you kidding me?"

"Aa? Um, yea," Kim replied, lowering her gaze, blushing again. "Yea, just joking."

Josh shook his head slowly, "Mission gone wrong?"

"Very," Kim nodded, packing her Chemistry text into her bag. She paused, wondering… could she… could she ask _Josh_ to be her new sidekick..? She couldn't really see him running around, jumping and fleeing like Ron had but… Maybe she should, she mulled. But then:

"Why don't you just say 'no'?" Josh asked, leaning against the locker next to hers.

Kim froze and gave Josh an incredulous look. "What do you mean 'no'?"

Josh shrugged, nonchalant. "Well, you have school. So why not just say 'no, I have school, maybe after' or something like that. I mean, you _do_ have a life, right?"

Kim frowned at him, turning from her locker. "Well yea, and missions _are_ apart of my life. I can't just say no. People need my help, the world needs my help." She didn't comprehend why Josh wasn't on the same wavelength as her.

"Okay, okay, chill," he replied looking disconcerted. "I don't always get why you have to flee at the first call but just don't run yourself ragged like to-day."

"To-day was kinda normal…" _Except for failing at the mission.__ It would have been normal… if I had a sidekick… If I had-_

"But it interferes with your life," again Josh shook his head. "Like making you late for school-"

"I already told you, it _is_ apart of my life. Ron always-" she stopped short suddenly realising who she had just mentioned. Kim felt frustrated with herself and flustered, "I… Don't you support my missions?" Kim abruptly demanded.

Josh was silent for a moment. His eyes shifted and fell onto the photograph still hanging in Kim's locker. The one she had neglected to take down after all those weeks.

"That's a nice photo," Josh said, nodding at the photograph of Kim and Ron playing in the ocean water at the beach during summer vacation. Kim looked to it now as if she had never noticed it before. "You guys look so happy..."

Growling softly, Kim tore the photograph off the locker door and crammed to the side of her computer, Josh recoiled at her unexpected actions.

"You never answered my question," Kim countered brazenly, changing the subject.

Josh gave her a look as if he didn't at all like her attitude.

Giving her a quelling look, he sighed and shrugged, "I do. But not if you end up getting the short end of things like to-day, y'know?" To Kim, it didn't really sound like he was behind her on this. "You're hip-hopping all over the world at any time of the day even during school hours just because someone can't help themselves. If you can't say 'no' then how about 'wait'. You can't just bend over backwards to other people because they say so."

"You don't get it!" Kim snorted, closing her locker and slinging her bag over her shoulder. "It's what I do: helping people-"

"Do you even get paid?"

Kim groaned, "Not usually, but they help me in return by giving me lifts when I have other missions to go on. Look," she wanted to mention Ron's name. She wanted to tell Josh that Ron, although complained about missions for his own well-being, was still always behind her, always willing to run with her around the world or wherever whenever she called his name. Ron never asked questions, he had always been there. It came to Kim then that missions hadn't just been apart of her life, but it had been apart of _their_ lives. Kim faltered in her thoughts, suddenly appearing deflated.

"Let's not argue, Kim," Josh said as they walked together towards the cafeteria, "You have your thing and I have my thing."

_And your thing is _so_ dull_, Kim wanted to say but resisted.

Yes, Josh had _gorgeous_ art and he was _extremely_ talented and Kim enjoyed viewing his art and even watching him paint, but only to a degree. She couldn't sit and watch Josh paint a whole painting through, it just… it became so _boring_. Sitting with Josh in the cafeteria and listening to him drone on and on about artsy things with his artsy friends dulled Kim. It gave her the fierce urge to smash her head on the desk and melt into a puddle on the floor. She would have preferred listening to Josh talk about video games rather than art. Art conversation, to Kim, was too complex to follow. At least with video games she understood the terms: 'blow brains' and 'double kick then punch'.

Josh _never_ engaged with her when he was talking with his friends. When Josh was having a conversation with his friends, she felt like she was only an obedient little child, having to sit with her parents during some conference that felt like hours.

Sometimes Kim couldn't stand it anymore and she butted into his converse with his friends, making a stupid joke or even giving her own input. But Josh and his friends just gave her blank stares, making her feel increasingly stupid.

Often now, Kim took to zoning out, thinking of other things like cheer practice or homework. Yes, she even _did homework_ at Lunch time she was so bored out of her mind. Lunch had no longer become a fun break from classes. In fact, she felt as if she _still_ was in class.

So she sat now, after going through the lunch line with Josh, carrying their trays over to Josh's familiar friends at one of the round tables.

_Too bad I put all my morning stuff away._

Kim sat next to Josh and immediately he and his friends delved into a chat about some gallery opening or other. Sighing audibly and yet no-one heard her, Kim poked at her mashed potatoes.

Where was Monique? Kim searched the cafeteria for her friend. Sometimes Kim managed to worm herself away from Josh and search out Monique.

But in the beginning, the first few weeks after the schism with Ron, all she had done was cling to Josh. Following him around like his shadow. She had been so hurt back then, so emotionally weak and distraught that she had required comfort and if Ron couldn't, nay, _wouldn't_ … no… was _incapable_ of giving it to her, then it would be Josh, even if he wasn't really giving it to her now.

Josh was good comfort yes, but as Kim always thought, there was always something lacking.

Instead of Monique who wasn't in the cafeteria (probably in the Sewing classroom finishing off one of her dress projects), it was Ron whom Kim's eye befell.

He was hunched over in his seat beside Felix as usual. Kim had wondered if he had the gut to come to school, or the strength. A part of her was curious as to how his back was fairing, but a part of her was also downright repulsed when she looked at him and what he attempted to do to her yesterday.

She shivered. Josh may be a bit on the dull side, but at least he would never harm her. Josh would never take advantage of her like Ron had. Kim was downright disgusted at who Ron really was and couldn't believe that from some point in their life, their friendship had just been some tool Ron was using to eventually gain from her. Disgusting. Just so incredible to Kim that that little timid and yet exuberantly happy boy she had grown up with, that boy who had never been apart from her for more than ten days at the most, had become some jerk. It felt surreal and implausible. But she had proof: his own thoughts.

Sighing in defeat on not finding Monique, Kim heaved a moan and grievously returned her attention to Josh and his pals.

-ø-

In some way or another, Ron had managed to keep down his teetering stomach. He ate nothing at Lunch, somehow worried that it might prod his stomach in another merciless round of upheavals like the day before. With his scorching back, Ron couldn't imagine the pain if he had to hunch over the toilet again, vomiting. Thankfully, Ron's stomach had calmed down, but he wasn't spared entirely. His back ached wretchedly, that and the fever was constant with him all day, his vision constantly blurring.

So obviously Ron was grateful that they had no Physical Education class that day. Maybe he'd ask his Mother or Father for a note excusing him from PE the next day, he wasn't sure how he'd be able to manage through gym class to-morrow; it wasn't just Ron, but his illness really was increasing dramatically.

Especially lately, it felt as if Ron's sickness had taken a sudden leap and was perhaps worsening day by day.

But still Ron told himself it was just something going around, something that would go away eventually. He'd be fine, he'd been sick before. Rarely, but fevers weren't all that uncommon.

It was after school and Ron, as usual now, ambled at his own slow pace to his locker, cramming away his things and bringing out his Mad Dog sweats. Like yesterday, Ron had no inclination to join the girls. He'd stay on the sidelines and watch, only going for his attendance, even though he wouldn't really be participating. How could he with his back constantly flaring pain? Constantly, Ron would hiss and grit his teeth throughout the day.

"See ya, to-morrow!" Felix called, passing Ron by in the other direction towards the front doors. "Don't forget the party!"

"Right," Ron nodded, waving good-bye as his friend wheeled away.

Ron had almost forgotten about Gil's party through-out the day ad he mulled it over now in his mind as he made his sweet time towards the gymnasium. Regardless of his previous thoughts that morning, he was now seriously was doubting about going. He couldn't really see what would be so good about it anymore. Ron felt himself conflicted between his inner burning flame to attempt contact with Kim at the party and his shying demeanour to just grant her what she obvious wanted, which was for him to leave her be.

Maybe he should just give her up. Maybe Kim never was for him. Ron remembered that in the past, he would always do what Kim wanted him to. Kim had been gallivanting around Josh and back then, Ron had always done 'the best friend thing' and although making his own self upset, he would have done anything to make Kim, even if that meant hooking the two up, content.

So why didn't he feel like that now?

_'Cos, even if it was just for a bit, I got to reveal some of what I feel for her, that's why. It's like being forced to eat a nacho and then when you finally get a bite of the big ol' juicy naco then it gets taken away from you and you're forced to the nachos again. You've had that taste of naco and it's just not the same without it._ That was the best analogy Ron could come up with, but it was _very_ accurate.

If Kim didn't want him in her life anymore, shouldn't he honour that? Shouldn't he just let her go and leave her be? Ron might have… if it weren't for the fact that Kim thought he was something he _wasn't_.

_That's right, isn't it?_ He asked himself. _Kim's thinkin' I'm this dude I'm not… and so what she said to me way back when our hands were stuck… must all be true, like, still even. Cos I never changed. I get that, I get that she likes who I am, but she's just so… like, blind to know that I'm still that guy. So I won't leave her alone. She'd want me to continue to prove to her I really am that guy. Or… or like she's gonna be cheated, yea, that's right. I'm doing her a favour, even if she doesn't realise it yet._

So yes. Yes, yes and no. No, Ron was not yet prepared to count Kim out of his life. Yes, Ron _would_ continue to persist after Kim, to prove to her that he never intended to harm her. Not ever. Yes, Ron would attend the party.

_I am _so _there!_

"Hi, Ron!" Tara piped up from behind Ron, startling him and Rufus on his shoulder. The boy and mole-rat were fast becoming accustomed to silence.

"Oh hey, Tara," Ron replied kindly. "What's going down?"

"Nothing much, I was working on my routine again last night. I'm worried I'm gonna sprain something."

"Don't do that, I think your routine's just fine as it is," Ron said, "You're stressing too much about it."

"But Kim said-"

"Kim just likes to nitpick, is all, I told you that before. You're fine, you'll do badical at the Regionals."

Tara seemed to glow, "Thank-you, Ron! You're doing good with your Mad Dog routine too!"

Ron chuckled, "How'd you know? I haven't done anything in a long time!"

"Oh, well," Tara blushed madly, "From what I've seen you do before, that's how I know! It's so natural for you. You're so funny, you're perfect for the mascot!"

Ron rarely blushed, so he flustered. Kim had never commented on his Mad Dog routine, only if he had been in the way or interfering with the girl's practice. That's one reason Ron liked being in Tara's company, she complimented him. Instead of nagging or complaining at the things he did. Ron wasn't used to being around someone like that, it felt a little 'awkweird', as he might put it. But it felt good, even if it, at times, was a touch uncomfortable. He never really knew how to respond, not being used to it.

"Uh, thanks," Ron replied shiftily.

Together they reached the empty gymnasium and Ron departed to change into his sweat suit. It took him awhile, his back was so stiff and constantly a pain that he could only move cautiously as he stripped out of his usual red and black turtle neck shirt and into his purple Mad Dog uniform.

Outside, none of the other girls had arrived yet. It felt like everyone was taking their time to reach the gym. When Tara emerged from the changing room, still no-one had arrived.

Tara walked up to Ron, dumping her light-blue backpack onto the bench near him and sat beside him.

"Won't you join in to-day?" she asked, her eyes so bright and innocent to him. "You haven't participated in a long time. You keep saying I don't need to practice so much, but what about you?"

"I can't really join in the practice again to-day," Ron admitted, taking his now familiar seat on the bench.

"Why not?" Tara inquired, sitting beside him on the bench.

"Um, an injury," Ron mumbled, looking away. But he turned around again, puffing himself up, "But it's no big. I'll be fine by Regionals." Ron wasn't actually so sure about that last statement.

"What happened?"

Ron flushed, "A boulder kinda shreddified my back, it still hurts," he shrugged, the movement irritated his back further.

Tara gasped softly, covering her mouth with a fair-skinned hand. "Here," she stood up and began to rummage inside her backpack. "I have some lotion that could help ease the pain."

"Lotion?" Ron asked, Rufus on his shoulder tilting his head to one side in equal confusion.

"Yes," Tara insisted, "It might sting your back a little at first, but trust me that it'll feel better! I use it when I feel sore after cheerleading. Even the other girls use it!"

"Oh, so it's some of that girly stuff? Ew, I 'unno about that…"

Tara giggled, pulling out the lotion and showing it to him, "No, no! It's just normal lotion," she laughed again, full of delight. "It won't turn you into a girl!"

"I'm marking you on that," Ron glowered lightly.

Suddenly Ron felt himself bristle with shock as he felt the back of his sweater being pulled up. "Wh-what are you doing?" he panicked.

Tara flinched, blinking at him softly as he tried to look at her over his shoulder. "I was just going to apply the lotion to your back, that's all. Is… something wrong with that..? I thought-"

"Oh, no, that's ok. I was just, um, yea go ahead."

"Ok…"

Ron again felt the back of his sweater being lifted up and pulled over his head, but he kept it on his arms. All of Tara's movements were delicate and… so much different than Kim's. With Tara, there seemed to be this sense of extreme caution. With Kim, everything she did she was always assure of, never hesitating. Tara… felt so gentle in the pulling of his sweater of his head. It gave him a brief shiver.

Ron tried to turn his neck to watch Tara squirt the lotion onto her palm but it was too much of a strain on his neck so Ron set his sight forwards waiting for her touch…

He heard her gasp softly. "Oh, Ron!"

"What?" he asked thickly.

"You're back, it… it looks so horrible! Gosh, this must be horrible to bear!"

"Well… Kinda." She didn't see the 'no duh' look he gave her.

"I'll make it better…" she said, her voice drifting off into concentration.

"…"

Teeth chattering, the lotion was cold against his skin and again Ron shivered. But this was in discomfort, he didn't like the feel of the cold lotion on his skin. Tara was rubbing the lotion smoothly, carefully, over one of his sore spots when immediately Ron arched his back involuntarily shouting out.

"I'm sorry!" Tara moaned from behind, "I said it would hurt some. But it'll get better."

Ron bit his lower lip, fussing and shifting himself, feeling skittish. He had an urge to leap away. He gasped in pain as she waved her palm over one of the extremely sensitive parts of his injury. It stung like nothing else Ron had experienced before and he whined in his throat, a tear surfacing in the corner of his eye.

"It's ok," Tara soothed and Ron sedated slightly. Yet there was still a slight feeling of discomfort and Ron slowly wondered if it really was caused by the lotion even if it stung his back so. Maybe it was the person spreading the lotion…

In an attempt to distract his mind, Ron sniffed the air, "What's that smell?"

"Banana," Tara replied, "Banana cream lotion!"

"Does it _taste_ like banana cream?" Ron pondered aloud.

Tara placed a clean palm to her cheek and declared, "I don't know!"

Shifting himself, Ron took the bottle from Tara and squeezed some onto the tip of his finger and licked it off, Tara squealed happily when he did this.

"Well!" she demanded.

"It does actually!"

Rufus leaned forwards on Ron's shoulder and sniffed the ointment. "Gimme! Gimme!" the mole-rat intoned eagerly.

Ron laughed and poured two blobs on two fingers, one he licked off for himself and the other he gave to Rufus.

Tara laughed in mirth, taking the bottle from him and taking some for herself. "It does!"

Sharing the bottle of lotion between them, Ron and Tara laughed excitedly as they ate away at the banana cream lotion.

Giggling, Ron and Tara looked up when they heard someone traipsing their way after pushing through the gymnasium doors. Turning their heads, they spotted Kim with her backpack on and her duffle cheerleading bag in hand as she strode towards the girls change room.

Finding nothing special with Kim, Tara ignored her, giggling again, and licked some banana flavoured lotion off her finger. She took some more from the bottle, as Kim watched walking by, snagging Ron's attention from Kim. He chuckled and scooped some lotion from the bottle like she had and licked it off his fingers. Together they laughed delightedly, ignoring Kim's presence.

But when Kim was almost directly across of Ron and Tara on the bench, Ron couldn't help but look up at her. As she was walking, she watched Ron eating the lotion with Tara and sneered in disgust at the both of them. Kim looked downright repulsed and she drew back, never stopping in her walk to the girl's change room.

Ron shrunk back from her domineering gaze, his euphoric laughter dying inside of him. Soberly, he wiped his hands off on his yellow pants and drew silent, looking down.

Tara watched Ron's shrinking reaction then looked back up at Kim who was looking away now, but the grim disgusted look still rode upon her face. She was now walking in great strides into the girl's change room.

When Kim was gone, Tara turned to Ron, his expression hadn't changed. She peered at him with inquiry, but he didn't look up. Licking off the last bit of lotion off her fingers, Tara stood up.

"I'll be right back, ok?"

Ron nodded and watched her retreat into the girl's change room.

When Tara burst into the change room, her expression was much different than when she had just been with Ron. In fact… was it _anger_?

"Kim!" Tara called, walking up to Kim who was taking her cheerleading clothes out of her backpack.

Kim turned around looking slightly put off, "What?" she asked almost grudgingly, returning to her clothing.

Tara paused, suddenly wondering if it was such a good idea to approach Kim. Nervously, she took a step back but then remembered Ron outside. Impudently, Tara took a step forwards, her hands locked together in front of her and blurted out: "Why are you so mean to Ron!"

Kim froze. Her back was to the blonde-haired girl as she waited for an answer. Nothing came, so Tara pressed on.

"I always see you looking at him! And you always send him all these really mean looks and Ron gets so upset about it! I don't like that you're making him so sad."

"_Him_ sad!" Kim burst, whipping around startling Tara badly, she stepped back. "There you are—swooning all over him and you don't know a thing about him!"

"Yes, I do," Tara retorted.

"Oh?" Kim pressed, "Like what?"

"H-he's funny, kind… very sweet…"

"HAH!" Kim barked a laugh, spooking Tara further. "Do you know how blatantly generic those words are?" she sneered, leaning forwards, hands on her hips. "Those words can be used to describe just about anybody! You… ah…You hardly even know him! And yet here you are defending him in front of me when you don't even know what happened between us! You're so infatuated with what you see of him that you won't even consider for a moment that he has faults!"

Tara cringed from Kim, blushing, but refused to back down for Ron's sake. "I know Ron has faults!" she cried back tersely, "But I don't care! Because… because I like his pros more and you just can't see that because all you care about is your popularity! I know what people say about him, Bonnie's my friend, but I happen not to care about what they say! I like Ron for who he is and I'm not afraid to show it!"

Kim's mouth was left open, she stood stunned, incredulous. "This has nothing to do with my popularity!" she screamed this unnecessarily, tears almost forming. How _dare_ Tara think this had to do with _popularity_! How dare she assume! "How could you think this has to do with something as petty has being _popular_!"

Again Tara pulled away, her blue eyes wide with fright. "Then tell me what it's about."

"I _can't_," Kim replied, "And it's none of your business anyway! Did it ever occur to you that maybe I have a right to glare at Ron? Why is it that you jump to the conclusion that I'm at fault? Have you ever considered that it could be Ron?"

"If Ron was at fault then it would have been an accident!" Tara insisted.

Kim snorted, "Is that how you see him? That he can do no wrong lest it be an accident? Well you better wake up soon, Tara or you'll be sorry! In fact, you better stay away from him. I don't to see you hanging around him anymore."

Tara stared hard at Kim, nonplussed, she said softly: "Is that a threat?"

"_What?_" Kim recoiled.

"You can't tell me who I want to hang out with!" Tara replied heatedly, "Just because you think Ron is a loser doesn't mean everyone else has to! _You're_ the one who's blind! You can't see what a wonderful person he is!"

Kim threw back her head and laughed callously, " 'Wonderful person'!" she mocked. "I must be getting old if we're now calling liars, users, and rapists 'wonderful'!"

"Th-those are lies!" Tara blustered, stumbling backwards. "Ron would never do such things!"

"Huh," Kim rolled her eyes. "Yea, well I thought so too. But guess what? I was wrong."

But Tara continued to shake her head, "You're wrong! But I don't care what you think—you never deserved Ron in the first place!"

It was Kim's turn to recoil, wide-eyed and stunned at that last sentence.

"You never treated him fairly! You always just bossed him around; you never listened to whatever he had to say!"

"Never listened!" Kim gave another callous laugh but this one sounded more nervous. "I'll tell you something, Tara," she hissed. "I _did_ listen to him, I did treat him fair; I understood him. I was opening up to him, and it was _he_ who turned his back, not me. I told him these things and still he didn't care. You…" Kim felt tears gathering in her eyes when placid memories of her and Ron came back. The dock, in the tree… how… with everything she had told him, how could he have done this? He knew that in the past she hadn't always treated him right as Tara was now saying. But Kim told Ron she was aware of that then, that she was changing and wanted him.

Looking up at Tara, Kim's eyes shimmered desperately, her mind still submerged in her recollection and the pain it caused her. But Tara's eyes still read disbelief.

"He was never happy with you…" Tara shook her head slowly from side to side as she backed away towards the door. "You don't have to like him and you can keep your lies of him, but don't you dare continue to make him unhappy by glaring at him all the time! Just… just let him be happy for once by leaving him alone!"

Tara turned and fled from the girl's change room, leaving Kim to stand bewildered and alone.

Returning to Ron on the bench, he sat still, holding the bottle of lotion in his hands; Rufus sitting on his knee. He looked up when Tara reached him and she smiled kindly down at him. Ron hadn't heard everything being said in the girl's change room, but he certainly had heard Kim's voice raising passionately and could only guess they had been talking about him.

"You ok?" Ron questioned. Tara looked troubled, distressed but she looked into his eyes and regained her composure.

"I'm fine, Ron," she replied. "Here, let me rub some more of the lotion on."

"Thanks."

"Does it still hurt?"

"It kinda stings some a bit."

Tara took the bottle from Ron's hands and squeezed some of the lotion onto her palm and rubbed it onto Ron's torn back tenderly. He flinched, hissed and fussed again as she did so, the chemicals in the lotion stinging him where he was still sore, but Tara laughed affectionately, easing him to a calm state.

While she was still applying the lotion peacefully, Liz, Crystal and Marcella walked in, they waved to Tara eagerly and she smiled back at them. When the three girls entered the changing room, Kim walked out, her pom-poms in her hands. She did turn to look at Tara applying the lotion on Ron's back but resisted the sneer.

Watching Tara apply the lotion fleetingly reminded Kim of her tending to Ron when he had been injured, when she had accidentally slammed him into the door and again during PE class after he had been mulled by the dogeballs. She had felt a sense of intimacy back then, something she had felt should only have been between her and Ron. But here Tara sat applying the lotion to his back. Kim wondered fiercely if there was any of the same sense of intimacy going on between them…

Kim watched Tara layer the lotion to Ron's bare back… rubbing it on… something growled inside Kim. She wasn't sure what it was, but it didn't feel like her usual hatred towards Ron. Instead of the negative feeling inside towards Ron, it felt as if the negative feeling was instead being directed towards _Tara_.

Kim had been nitpicking at her a lot lately, over little things, things that she normally wouldn't have picked at. Sometimes she picked at things that didn't exist. Kim wasn't sure why she did this, but she felt the urge to, especially whenever she saw Tara hanging around Ron.

Kim _hated_ that Tara did.

She hated Ron and she hated Tara following Ron around like a love-sick puppy. Truly disgusting. Utterly repulsive. The two were horrible together. Them sitting there, eating _lotion_ and acting like a couple of idiots. With their stupidity united, Kim thought, they could probably blow up the planet by accident.

_Dumb ditzy blondes,_ Kim scowled as she continued with her stretches, bending her arm behind her back and curling her leg behind her so her fingers touched her toes.

"Tara!" Kim barked from where she stood, flexing her limbs, "Come do your stretches. This is cheer practice not a slumber party."

"I'm coming," Tara replied, for the first time a bit resentfully, not even bothering to look up at Kim. This only frustrated Kim further. She didn't like it when she was loosing control over things… people…

"Tara," Kim called out with exasperation, "I'm telling you now as head cheerleader to do your stretches. You can't participate if you don't do your stretches!"

"I said I will!" Tara cried back, still staring hard at Ron's back.

Kim didn't know what they were saying from her distance but Ron turned around and said something to Tara. Kim craned her neck in a failed attempt to overhear. Looking uncomfortable, the curly-blonde nodded and popped the cap back on the lotion bottle, handing it to Ron. Ron pulled his sweatshirt back on and composed himself, sitting and watching Tara walk over to Kim, joining with the stretches.

The two girls didn't speak to each other, even when Marcella, Liz and Crystal joined them in their uniforms and started chatting. Kim didn't speak at all, no, she was looking at Ron. But for the first time, he wasn't returning her look, this made a sense of indignation burn inside her. As if to say: _how dare you not look at me when I'm glaring at you!_

She followed his line of eyesight and found the source to be Tara. That was when a flare of something shot and blazed inside of Kim. She narrowed her eyes with a burning hatred kindling inside towards that dim-witted blonde girl. Ron shouldn't be looking at Tara. He should be looking at _Kim_. Kim felt an urge to stalk up to Ron, smack him on the cheek and say: 'Look at me, I'm hating you here!'

Kim was momentarily distracted when the rest of the girls, Jessica, Bonnie and Hope walked into the gym in their clothes.

Bonnie stopped when she was in front of Kim had crossed her arms in her pink, off-the-shoulder sweater and tight jeans. "I hope you won't be keeping us long to-day, _K_. Some of us have social lives to live. _I_ plan on going to the mall after practice to buy a new outfit for Gil's party to-morrow. I unlike _some_ don't plan on wearing the same bland outfits day after day."

"Ohh," Kim drawled venom, crossing her arms, "Then why don't you do something about it for a change?" (Bonnie snorted.) "It depends on how long it takes you to saunter yourself over to the change room, depends on if you can actually complete the routine."

Bonnie stormed after Jessica and Hope to change into their cheer uniforms, leaving Kim to smile smugly to herself.

-ø-

Practice went well, there were still some spots to work on, but mainly they had it all down pat and were no longer lagging to the song. All the girls were determined to do their best on the day of the Regionals which would be held at Upperton High that year. Again Kim broke the girls up into their pairs and judged their performances, exchanging retorts with Bonnie as usual when it was her rivals turn to dance. Kim hated to admit it, but like herself, Bonnie had a knack for dancing about. She felt as if Ron would make a cruel comical addition about Bonnie if she said this to him, but reminded herself that she hated him.

Ron had watched the girls practice and felt as if they were all doing a good job. He couldn't imagine any of the other schools doing better than theirs, but then there was all that technical stuff to think about. Not that Ron was regarding that, he was mainly thinking about their dancing. Yes, he really was a lucky guy…

After practice, Ron stood up, picking up his bag to change back into his clothes. It really was useless to change into his sweat suit, but it was part of participating for some stupid reason. Tara had been right, his back was feeling much better now that the lotion had taken effect. It was actually bearable now. He hung around to thank Tara, not sure if he'd catch her before she left if he went to change first.

Tara was coming out of the girls change room with Jessica and Marcella who waved goodbye as Tara stopped in front of Ron.

"Hey, wanted to thank ya for the lotion," he nodded at her. "My back is, like, way much better than before, it really worked!"

"And it tasted good," Tara giggled.

"That too!"

"Hey, um, Ron… can I ask you something?"

Ron had turned to change in the boys room but paused. "H'm? What?"

"Um… ah…Would you like to come to the mall with me?" Tara blurted out anxiously, her backpack slung over her shoulder.

"What?" Ron asked, standing up to face her.

"Well, I'm going to the mall to buy a new outfit for Friday's party. I was… kinda wondering if you'd like to come with me? We can get you a new outfit too!" she smiled warmly at him, calming him down.

He thought on this and how he was feeling (his fever and back), but… to be with a friend, it was something Ron wanted to do. Even with Rufus Ron felt himself to be constantly alone, even with Felix. It was because he was missing his times with Kim but… could Tara be slowly filling that void? It was up to him to decide now. She was asking him and the answer…

Ron glanced around at Kim, sitting on the bench, tying her shoelace. Instinctively she looked up and saw Ron. Even though she held back the cruel glares that Ron had expected to see, she still didn't look happy to see his face. That gave Ron his answer. Sucking in his breath, he turned around to Tara.

"Yea, that'd be badical!" Tara looked delighted. "But, er… can it just be us? Or like… everyone in the world and_ not_ Bonnie? I kinda overheard what she said."

Tara laughed gleefully, clapping her hands together. "Oh, sure! You two don't really get along do you?"

"Heh, well, that's a bit of an understatement."

"Ok, we won't hang with her. We can go off on our own."

"Sure, um, lemme go change first, kay?"

"Go ahead, I'll wait here!" Tara sat down on the bench elegantly, her curls bouncing.

Ron left for the change room while Tara sat prettily for his return.

After finishing with her shoelace, Kim walked by Tara, shooting her a glare that she usually reserved for Ron, Tara met her eyes determinedly, saying nothing. Growling, Kim hastened out of the gymnasium. She wasn't sure why, but she felt as if she had just been defeated.

_Tara__ should stick her nose out of business that isn't hers!_ Kim thought fiercely. Thoughts began to swirl inside Kim's mind again, thoughts Kim usually thought about at night in her bed, staring at the Rabphin. _Not now… don't feel like this now, Possible_. She thought miserably.

Eager for comfort, Kim looked to the only place where she found it these days. Kim jogged towards the art room, hopping Josh would still be there as he usual was, either working on some project or helping out. Too bad his comfort always lacked, too bad it was a poor substitute. But Kim took it nonetheless, after all, she had nothing left.

-ø-

The drink was cooling to Ron, such a great refreshment for the fever that had been shadowing him all day. Though it hadn't actually been long, to Ron it felt like he and Tara had been walking around the mall all day, browsing in countless stores. So by the time he and Tara took a break for a drink in the mall food court, Ron was exhaustively grateful. Even if it _was_ a smoothie.

Presently, Ron sat across from Tara, stirring the straw absent-mindedly. His fever had been horrible to him and he was afraid that he had been a little short with Tara in the last store when she was picking out clothing. Ron had been worried that he had hurt Tara's feelings with his snippy reply, but, to Ron's great astonishment, he hadn't. If he had snapped at Kim in such a manor… well, she wouldn't have taken it from him.

_"What do you think, Ron?" Tara asked while in American Seal, holding up a light blue top with darker blue graffiti spray on it._

_Ron felt himself beginning to feel dizzy and events from yesterday, mainly the boulder incident came back to him. His stomach was 'fine' at the time, it was just his fever. Ron felt himself waver slightly and he backed up as to be able to lean against a table with folded clothing. _

_"Yea, um, kay," he replied shortly, furrowing his brow. With an increasing fever, Ron felt eager to leave the store. He became fidgety and agitated. __Tara__ clearly saw this, but had no notion it was because of a fever._

_"Oh…" she replied, gently putting down the top as if against her will. She looked at the top longingly; she obvious valued Ron's opinion more than her own. How unlike Kim. _

_"Tara, don't," Ron said, more nettled than he had intended. Tara turned to face him, wide-eyed and curious, looking slightly hurt. "Look, it's fine. I just," he leaned more against the table, constantly darting his eyes away from her, "Try it on."_

_"But if you don't like it-"_

_"I never said I didn't!"_

_She was dragging on the conversation far more than Ron's fever liked. It only frustrated him further. Ron always had the patience of an angel, Kim had said and that statement was very much true. Hardly anything agitated him, let alone angered him. If he did become angry, he didn't yell or shout or rant like Kim; Ron would silence himself and brood, sometimes for days or until whatever it was became sorted out. So seeing Ron suddenly show signs of aggression frightened __Tara__, especially after Kim's information but Ron didn't know that._

_Yet at least for __Tara__, she would be put at ease. Ron realised his outburst frightened his new friend and instantly he regretted his unusual burst. _

_"I'm sorry," he said instantly and looking it. His voice still held some slight discomfort. He wanted to get out of the store, he wanted to go somewhere to cool him down. _

_"It's ok, Ron…" __Tara__ forgave, but still appeared spooked so Ron decided to elaborate._

_"My fever…" he began, "I have a fever, __Tara__. I'm feeling a bit crummy. I didn't mean to, like, bark at you there or nothin'. I'm just-"_

_"A fever?"_

_"Yea, I've been getting them lots lately. So… yea, the top, it really is good on you."_

_"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"_

_"About the top?"_

_"About your fever."_

What?_ Ron had thought at the time. _No yelling? No 'so what? A fever shouldn't justify your outburst! Next time just tell me instead of going all-out war on me'? _Perplexed, Ron stuttered while thinking up an answer. _

_"Cos, uh… cos, like," he rubbed the back of his heated neck awkwardly. "Cos… you never asked?"_

_Tara__ peered at him calmly, inquisitively. "But how am I supposed to know if you don't tell me?"_

_O, this was much too much for Ron's brain! For his entire life of being with Kim and now being with someone… who was _not_ like Kim baffled him. He didn't know what to say or do and it was full of surprises, especially surprising_ questions_—which meant answers… which was something Ron wasn't very experienced at._

_"Cos…" he struggled to think of an answer, but he never had conversations like this with Kim, she never asked these questions, so he failed miserably. "I dunno. Usually you just know?"_

_" 'Usually'__?"_

_"Oh! Um…" Ron hadn't been aware of that. He had been referring to __Tara__ as if she were Kim. _

_Thankfully __Tara__ was kind enough to save Ron from any further struggles. "I wish I had known sooner," she wailed, and made towards the front doors of the store, Ron following, slowly, confusedly. "If I had known, we wouldn't have continued on! We should have left as soon as you weren't feeling well."_

_"Yea?"_

_"Of course!__ Do you think a cool drink would help? We could stop for a drink in the food court, would that help?"_

_Ron shrugged, "I suppose."_

_"How about a smoothie?"_

_Out in the mall hallways, Ron froze in his amble after __Tara__ heading towards the food court. " Smoothies?" _

_Stopping, __Tara__ turned around to face Ron. "Yes? Is that ok? Are you allergic?"_

_Ron almost smiled. He remembered being here at the mall, a little over a month ago. He and Kim had been breaking on one of the benches. She had insisted on smoothies and was scooping up mouthfuls with her spoon and trying to shove it done his throat playfully. A feeling inside of Ron surged as he longed for those times with Kim again, even the times that happened after the smoothies, the running around the mall, avoiding the security guards. Something like that would never happen with __Tara_

_He looked at her now, standing in front of him with those soft, tender eyes; different from Kim's. Ron couldn't even remember what he felt when he had looked into Kim's eyes all those weeks ago. All he ever saw now was dislike, criticise… Eyes that didn't care for him anymore, eyes that were blinded by her own stubbornness. _

_"No, I'm not," he replied, catching up with her. "A smoothie would be great, thanks."_

Leaning forwards and sipping the sweet, cooling drink from the straw, Ron continued to muse things over. He looked down at Tara's shopping bags resting by her seat. It was strange that he had had a hand in picking out many of her outfits. Yes, it was weird to be asked so many questions when Tara was browsing, asking for his opinion. Kim rarely wanted his opinion and mainly talked aloud to which Ron would agree and nod while allowing his mind to drift. But… it was fun, to actually engage and feel as if what he had to say was being appreciated. He liked it.

_The cream-white door to the changing room opened and __Tara__ stepped out donning the glittering teal shirt and black jeans also deckled in sparkles. She twirled before Ron, looking at herself in the mirror. "What do you think Ron?"_

_It had been in the first store they went into that day, Kim's favourite: Club Banana. He half expected to see her browsing the new arrivals as she always did. Kim would always rather spend more money on the new in-clothing than the bargain racks unlike Ron. It hadn't only been the first store, but the first time she had asked for his opinion, Ron recoiled, appearing baffled._

_"Nice," Ron replied with a normal response that he supplied Kim with when she occasionally asked his opinion. It never mattered what he said because Kim would always decide for herself whether or not to purchase the clothing in question._

_"Just nice..?" __Tara__ asked, looking defeated. She stood in front of the mirror, evaluating herself. Her expression had been exuberant when she stepped out of the change room, thrilled with her wear. Now with Ron's response dwelling in her mind, she appeared deflated and began to second-guess herself._

Was nice the wrong answer_? Ron questioned himself. Kim never found fault in that answer before, mainly because she never really listened. _

_"Well," he began, trying to put __Tara__ at ease. The clothing really _did_ look nice on her, but apparently _saying_ the word 'nice' wasn't acceptable in direct speech. "I like it. You look good in that colour, y'know, with your eye colour 'n everything. I don't know much, but I know you look good in it."_

_Tara__ lightened at this. "I'm glad you think so! I'm going to try on some other clothes, be right back!" She dashed into the change room, leaving Ron with Rufus on his shoulder to sit in one of the armchairs. _

_When __Tara__ emerged, she wore a yellow top with a pleated jean skirt. "How about this one, Ron?"_

_Ron had been leaning back in his seat at the time, with lazy eyes and thinking about a nap. To be asked his opinion two times in a row woke him. He looked at the yellow top. Well, the top wasn't bad or anything. But because the top was yellow, on __Tara__ it just made her seem pale. It didn't make her stand out unlike the teal shirt._

_"Uh," Ron said, wondering or not to tell her the truth. _

_"Do you like it?" she pressed._

_"The skirt's all gravy," Ron settled._

_"And the top?"_

_"The top?"_

_"Yes, Ron, the shirt, what do you think?" Never once did she loose her patience with him, still she appeared eager for his reply. _

_"Oh, um, well… y'know, the other one was better. If you only get one, get the other. Uh, right."_

_"… You don't like this one, do you?"_

_Ron swallowed hard, exchanging an anxious look with Rufus on his shoulder. He didn't need to say anything, his actions spoke to __Tara__. But instead of looking defeated like his 'nice' comment beforehand, __Tara__ actually smiled at Ron. Another confusion for the gears in his brain. _

_"It's ok, Ron! Y'know, that's why I'm asking for your opinion. Because I want it," she giggled, "Even the truth."_

_Ron frowned, "But, like…"_

_"Seriously!__ If you don't like it, tell me! What other reason would I have for asking you then if you just kept saying 'nice' all the time?" Again she giggled._

_Ron attempted a feeble smile, still confused. "Hehe, yea, of course. So, like, I should tell you next time if the clothing tanks?"_

_"Yup!"_

_"Do you dig the yellow one?"_

_"Sorta, I like the light pink stars on it but…"_

_"Not really your colour?"_

_Tara laughed again, "I'm glad you told me!"_

_"No wait, I didn't mean-"_

_Tara tsked him, "Don't worry so much, Ron!" She trotted back into the change room, back in her clothing and purchased the glittery pair of clothing with (what was probably) her Father's credit card, giving Ron a smile as she did so. _

There weren't only bags at Tara's feet, but two beside his feet as well, one from Club Banana and another from Blue Bay. As Ron continued to recollect with his time with Tara, slowly draining his smoothie, he also found himself amazed that not only did she truly and actually _value_ his opinion, even if she disagreed, unlike Kim, Tara didn't just drag him around to clothing stores that _she_ wanted to go in, but actually went to the guys side and let _him_ browse around. Rather than being forced to stand around lazily as she browsed the girls side only.

She had helped to pick out some clothing for him to wear at to-morrow's party using her girl know-how in fashion to pick out clothing that not only looked good on Ron, but clothing that Ron _liked_.

_"I don't really wear jeans all that much," Ron responded to __Tara__ as she held up a pair of baggy jeans. "Y'know, they don't really have pockets big enough."_

_Tara__'s eyes flew open. "B-big enough?"_

_Ron nodded, shrugging, "No pockets big enough for Rufus. He doesn't really fit into one of them side ones or anything like that."_

_"Oh, Rufus!"__ Tara smiled meekly, looking at the small rodent nodding on Ron's shoulder. "Well, I'm sure we'll find something for you."_

_Again Ron shrugged, "I can always wear something I have at home."_

_But __Tara__ insistently shook her head. "Nonsense, Ron!" was her merry reply. "We'll find some, like over here- see?" __Tara__ strode forwards and held up a pair of black cotton pants that was massive with pockets. "Do you think Rufus could fit in any of these?"_

_Ron took the pants from her and held them in front of him. "They're pretty fly," he said. Rufus leapt off of his shoulder and slipped into one of the pockets, nestling inside. He poked his little rodent face out of the pocket and chattered happily._

_Tara__ giggled, "It looks like Rufus agrees with me! They'd look good on you, Ron. Black goes with everything, you know."_

_"I like these better," Ron said openly and picked up a pair of baggy, dark jeans that actually had two large pockets on either side of the pant leg. _

_"Me too," __Tara__ nodded. "Why don't you try them on?"_

_It wasn't the first puzzled look he had given her that day._

_"What's wrong?" she asked._

_"Like, ok," he looked back at the jeans, confusion still on his face. "And you'll wait? Out here?"_

_It was __Tara__'s turn to look confused. "Of course. Where would I go?"_

_Ron laughed evasively, "I dunno; hang on, lemme look around s'more."_

_"Sure—oh hey, how about _this_ shirt, Ron!"_

_Conflicting_, he thought. The shopping part with Tara was easier, and he enjoyed actually feeling as if he were apart of the outing rather than just tag along luggage. But it also took a lot of brain-power and constantly Ron found himself more confused than what was usual for him. It took up a lot of energy to shop with Tara, not being used to kindness and equality. In some ways, Ron preferred to shop with Kim, he was comfortable with the familiarity, but he found he was more content when with Tara.

Ron had purchased more than he thought (he had thought he would purchase nothing). That pair of jeans from Club Banana plus a long-sleeved shirt, then a hooded sweater from Blue Bay. Ron still preferred to purchase his clothing from Smarty-Mart, it was much cheaper and the merchandise at Smarty-Mart and Club Banana were practically the same, but he didn't mind splurging here and there. And hey, he deserved it what with how rotten Ron had been feeling lately.

Looking up, Ron watched Tara taking the last sip of her smoothie in front of him. Ron was… so glad that he had a new friend like Tara. It made everything begin to feel worthwhile. He enjoyed that she never snipped at him, never made any shots or brought him down. She… valued him.

"Are you feeling any better?" Tara asked, dabbing her lips with a napkin.

Ron nodded, swallowing his smoothie. "Yup, it did help. Never thought I'd admit it though," and he laughed while Tara looked at him with question. "That was real cool of you to stop shopping at let me get a drink."

"No duh! It would be cruel if I didn't!"

Ron double blinked. "Cruel, hah?"

Tara nodded. "To make you suffer just so I can _shop_? What kind of friend would I be?"

"I dunno."

"Not a very good one." Tara watched Ron fall silent. "Um…" she decided to venture, "Ron do you want to talk about something?"

Immediately Ron looked up, frightened, "What?"

"I don't know… maybe about… Kim..?"

"I've nothing to say."

"Oh."

"Why? Did Kim say anything?"

"She…" Tara stumbled. She looked away from Ron worriedly and played around with her spoon in her empty smoothie cup. "She said you two weren't friends anymore-"

"Heh, _everyone_ knows that."

Tara looked at Ron again, smiling weakly. "But whatever they say, I don't believe it."

"What if it's true?"

Tara faltered, "Then… then I don't care. Because… because I'm your friend, Ron. And I know you'd never do anything wrong on purpose, I know what a nice person you are. I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt."

Ron smiled. _So Kim _did_ say stuff to __Tara__. Wonder what exactly? But it doesn't matter…_ he looked into Tara's shinning eyes, her welcoming eyes. _Cos__ Tara _likes_ me and is willing to hear me out. As friends should. Unlike other people who don't. Which, I suppose, doesn't make them friends. That's right…_

"Hey, uh, you wanna hang out at Lunch to-morrow?" Ron asked boldly.

"Pardon?"

"Well, unless you're hanging with Bonnie and stuff…"

"No, I'd like that!" Tara nodded, "We could… we could go to Bueno Nacho at Lunch time, it's not a far drive."

"Bon diggity!" Ron perked up, grinning. "I haven't actually been there in awhile, I'm afraid they might come and repo me."

Tara laughed, leaning back in her seat. Clasping her hands together, she said, "Aah, you're so funny!"

Ron hadn't felt as if he'd done anything funny or light-heartened in weeks. _A month, actually_, he recalled grimly. Even with Felix. Sure, his mind was allowed to drift when he hanged with Felix, playing video games and chilling with one another. But he was never his old, regular, joking self. Suddenly, from that moment, Ron wondered if he'd actually be able to be that person again.

"What do you wanna do after this?" Ron asked.

"Whatever you like," Tara shrugged.

Looking up to the side, Ron contemplated. It was still strange to be asked what he wanted to do, but he went with it anyway. "Maybe the Electronics store-"

"Electronics?" Tara asked.

Ron sat in his seat blinking back at Tara. "Actually, no, um-"

"It's ok, Ron, we can go there if you want," she said but didn't sound like she wanted to go.

"Not if you don't wanna."

"No, it's ok, if you want to-"

"But if _you_ don't want to-"

They stopped, peering at each other puzzled, each waiting for the other to give in. It didn't seem like either of them would.

Ron flushed, fidgeting in his seat, "Naw, better not, not with my fever."

"You're right," Tara said. Ron couldn't help but think she sounded a tad relieved.

"Maybe I should just go home," Ron murmured more to himself.

"Only if you want to," Tara said, standing up, her empty smoothie cup in her hand. "I think it might be best. You should rest for the party to-morrow. Y-You plan on going, don't you?"

"I guess," Ron replied grimly.

"I look forward to seeing you there."

"That's cool," he smiled faintly. "Cool someone will be."

"Ron…" Tara walked around the table and stood next to Ron as he stood up, his bags in one hand and his own empty smoothie cup in the other. "You should know that… just because some people don't like you anymore doesn't mean that we all don't. Y-you should be thankful for what you have, not cry over what you can't have. And… might not ever have."

Ron blinked hard as she said this, watching her retreating back as she dumped the smoothie cup into the trash can. She stood waiting for him beside the trash can. So fresh, so inviting to Ron, the way she stood there, it wasn't just like she was waiting for him to catch up with her, but waiting for him to finally leave his sorrows and woes behind, to join her in a fresh new beginning… because she was his only new beginning. And she was the only opening to this new beginning that he had to accept lest he be left in a swirling world of depression for the rest of his life.

The only person willing to bring him out of it.

The only person who _cared_ enough to revive him…

The only…


	2. Party★Night

Note: Thanks, FFDOTnet for fixing the bug and finally letting me upload. Reviewer _Natasel_, I can not contact you because emails do not transfer in reviews and the one listed in your bio bounced back. Try wrting AT and DOT instead of the symbols or update your bio with a current address, thanks.

* * *

¤ Instalment 02 »» _Party__Night _¤

Get up tonight

Make up your life and bring it on

Since the light has gone, baby

No way to hide

Today you'll find the answer

In your heart

-Vicky Vale, _'Dancing'_

* * *

Hands on her hips, Kim Possible heaved a sigh, staring at all the clothing she had taken out of her closet and doused her bed with. Her eyes swept all the articles, evaluating each one as if her clothing was undergoing some critical examination. And, in a way, at least to Kim, they were.

All the clothing lain upon her bed were possible outfits to wear to the party that evening. Kim had come home, done some of her homework in the kitchen, keeping to herself and maintaining her ghost-like ambiance as she normally did and eventually floated up to her room to decide on what to wear. She had spent too much time on homework which she could have saved for to-morrow, but routine hit her.

Kim lifted a hand to her lip and scrutinized each article as it met her eyes. No, that shirt wasn't spiffy enough; no, those jeans weren't fly enough; no, she'd worn those pants _way_ too many times. And no, that shirt… just _had_ to go. Kim gathered up the shirt and tossed it aside vowing to be rid of it.

Rolling her eyes, Kim twirled around, returning to her closet and shoved aside more clothing inside to hunt for_ anything_ she might have missed. Grabbing all the clothing from one side, Kim swung everything massively to the other side of the closet and still found nothing appropriate to wear.

Great, she should have gone shopping after school but she could have sworn she'd find something at home! Plus her parents weren't being very generous in the funding department for a new outfit. Parents just didn't understand the need for a joyce new party outfit.

But what's this? Kim spied something glittery caught between a t-shirt and a sweater. Reaching in and pulling out the hanger, Kim gasped with delight. On the hanger was the _perfect_ party top, she had completely forgotten she owned it! It was a pink halter-top covered in pink glittery sequences that tied together in the pack with string.

"Absolutely perfect!" Kim voiced to herself. She unhooked the top from the hanger and dropped it onto her pillow. Now the only thing left was to find a hip pair of matching pants. Kim thought on a pair of pants as she stored away her clothes that were scattered on her bed, going back and forth. She could wear her pink jeans that she often wore with the white top; sure they matched, but she wanted to wear something _new_.

"How's it going?" Mrs Possible asked, climbing up Kim's loft stairs.

Kim turned around to face her Mother, holding that very pair of pink pants and evaluated them. "Not good," she sighed looking back at the pants forlornly, "I still can't decide on a pair of pants and the party is, like, _soon_."

"Well," Mrs Possible shrugged, "I supposed I can give you an early Christmas present."

"Mom: It's October."

"I bought you a pair of pants a few weeks ago that I thought I'd save for Christmas, but, oh well, if you're in _this_ much of a crisis…" She eyed the clothing still massive on Kim's bed, not to mention the numerous shirts and pants that littered Kim's floor.

"Alright! Mom, you _rock_!" Kim threw the pink pants down and bounded over to her Mom. "Wait… er, you didn't, like, buy them at _Smarty-Mart _by any chance, did you..?" She took a step backwards.

"No."

"Ok, show me!" Kim laughed giddily.

Mrs Possible laughed and retreated from the room to leave Kim behind in eager anticipation. Kim sat down on her bed, leaning back, waiting for her Mother's return. It didn't take long for Mrs Dr Possible to return back up the loft stairs with a pair of pants in hand. Immediately Kim's eyes flew open and she leapt off the bed to steal the pants from her Mother's grip.

"Eeek, Mom, I _love them!_" Kim shrilled and twirled around on spot with her new pair of pants. From Club Banana, Kim gloriously beheld dark green jeans with three lighter green stars on each side of the hip and one humungous one that splattered at the bottom and continued off the pant leg.

"Thank-you, thank-you, _thank-you_! They're perfect!" She instantly halted. "Ok, so what's the catch?" she asked dryly.

"To-morrow," Kim's Mother gave in, a hand on her cheek. "Your Father and I need to you to stay home and baby sit your brothers."

"Ew, Tweeb Duty?" Kim recoiled, placing the pants onto her bed. She looked at them longing, how perfectly they matched her pink halter top... "Oh… alright…" Kim muttered.

"Thank-you, Kimmie," Mrs Possible smiled sweetly.

"Great doing business with you," Kim muttered as her Mother leaned forwards and planted a kiss on her daughter's cheek.

"I'm so glad that you're finally feeling upbeat for once," her Mother replied kindly. "You always seem to be moping around the house and it's been weeks. Anything you wanted to talk about?"

Kim faltered, "N-no." Her eyes flickered to her pillow for no reason in particular. "I'm just… just a lot of stuff that's been going on, that's all. So not the drama."

Her Mother smiled, "Hopefully we'll see you smiling around the house more often." Before Mrs Possible left Kim's bedroom loft, she turned around and added, "You better hurry; party starts soon."

"I know!"

"Do you need a lift? Or is Ron going to come pick you up?"

Kim froze. Even after all the weeks that passed including the obscurity that was Ron's absence, her parents never seemed to catch on that she and Ron weren't friends anymore, did they? They never really connected the fact that Kim's constant distant attitude could possibly be linked to Ron's scarceness. Or maybe they _did_ have their assumptions and were waiting for Kim to speak up. Hadn't they overheard her shouting at Ron the night… the night they…

Her Mother had just given her an opening should Kim decide to finally talk about her rift with Ron, but Kim had declined. Perhaps her Mother's suggestion about Ron picking her up was yet another subliminal cue.

"Mom…" Kim suddenly felt herself flushing. She turned around to look at her Mother.

"Yes?"

"Um… nothing… I'm fine. Josh is going to come pick me up," she attempted a feeble smile hopefully to satisfy her Mother's worrying look.

"Don't stay out too late."

"I won't."

When her Mother left the room, Kim crossed her arms and looked down at her clothing before her, adrift in thought once again. Maybe she should have confided in her Mother, she had never entrusted in _anyone_ about what had happened. Not even Wade or Monique knew the full story. Perhaps Kim ought to let if off her chest to someone, if she did, there was a chance that Kim could finally be able to let go of what had happened.

For some reason, Kim had never been able to fully move on, even with Josh at her side; it made no sense to Kim. She had Josh, she should be overjoyed. They were going to a party _together_, as a _couple_. Kim ought to be positively, downright _euphoric_. But she wasn't.

_Why do I feel like I'm missing something?_

-ø-

The wheels on Ron's scooter screeched to a titled halt as Ron braced himself for his vehicle's abrupt stop, parking the scooter in Gil's driveway beside two motorbikes and a small car. Sitting straight, Ron unclasped his helmet and hung it on one of the scooter's handles.

"Looks like some guests are already here," Felix commented, rolling up beside Ron still on his scooter seat.

Ron shrugged and looked around. There were other teens he recognised from school approaching the house, walking up from the sidewalk. He recognised Jessica, Crystal and Marcella walking with one of the football players.

"C'mon, let's get inside and scope around," Felix suggested, wheeling ahead.

Ron slipped off his seat and jogged up to catch up with his friend. He pocketed his hands in the front pouch of his new blue sweater he purchased yesterday with Tara at Blue Wave, the blue sweater with the blue flames on the pocket, sleeves and emblem on the chest. He wore this with his new jeans, Rufus inside a large side pocket and underneath his sweater, the lime green tee with the dark blue turtle neck and sleeves.

They went up the walkway and inside Gil's large house it would be hosting countless Middleton High students that night. Judging by the cars already parked alongside the street in front of the house, Gil had invited more than just the twelfth grade; it was probably a word of mouth party, Ron surmised. Maybe even some from Brookdale.

Once inside, the two boys already heard music blaring from the ground floor rooms. Making their way to the room with the most students, the sitting room, Ron discovered that he and Felix were definitely not among the first to arrive. Already there were over twenty students inside and he guessed there were still many more to come.

Although he immediately scanned the sea of heads, Ron couldn't locate Kim. Why was he looking for her to begin with? He should be looking for Tara. Ron furrowed his brow at his own folly.

"Ronnie! So glad you came!" Gil bounced over, startling Ron as the olive-skinned boy seemed to have dissolved out of no-where; Felix was less startled. "Good on you, Wheeler," Gil nodded at Felix, "Thanks for bringing the Squeeb, he'll soon figure what a great time he's in for."

"It took a bit of persuading," Felix admitted, looking up at Ron. "But in the end, he couldn't pass up the food."

"Where _is_ the food?" Ron asked, perking up at the sound of one of his favourite words.

"Just on the other side," Gil replied, pointing across the group of dancers, grooving in the open space to the loud, rocking music that was blowing from the amplifiers. "Try the punch, it's tropical."

Ron gave Gil a sneering smile, "Eheh, yea right. Like I'm gonna fall for that one, there's no way the Ronster's gonna relive Brick's party last year. Nu-uh, this year, I'm drinking straight from the tap."

"Ah, so you'll at least drink the mutagenic agent I spoiled our water reserves with, good choice."

Ron shrunk back from Gil, not sure of this was a joke or not. You couldn't be too sure from last years return to Camp Wannaweep. There was no way Ron was going to go all beaver again. "Or maybe I'll just stick to the food…"

Gil laughed, slapping Ron on the back in good manner, the skinny boy wavered. "Whatever, Squeeb; just enjoy yourself and I'll see you two around. I think Bonnie's here. Wanna intercept her before she hooks up with Brick…"

Gil again dissolved with mutant-like stealth into the crowd ahead of Ron, leaving him with Felix.

"He seemed happy to see you," Felix remarked.

Ron snorted, "That's when Gils are the most dangerous. You just _know_ they've got death plots for you when they're smiling," he scowled.

"Let's move away from the entry way," Felix said, straining to look behind him as students struggled to bypass him in his wheelchair and Ron.

"Yea, good idea," Ron clapped his hands together, "and let's search out that food tray!"

"And stay away from the punch," Felix added darkly.

""Nooooo kidding."

With Ron in the lead, he and Felix passed through the dancers and students chilling on the sofas and armchairs gossiping. As they walked on, Ron couldn't help himself but give in to another attempt to search out Kim. He kept repeating to himself that he was really looking for Tara and that Kim was just an addition, but he knew inside this wasn't true. So far, there was neither sign of the dazzling red-head or the platinum blonde.

The food tray had everything a high-school party ought to have. Different flavoured chips to pick from, along with different kinds of popcorn, pretzels, crackers, cookies, pizza and of course that infamous bowl of punch, three infamous bowls of punch, rather. Ron instantly went for the cheese-flavoured nachos. Rufus probably caught whiff of the cheese for he was quick to scamper out of Ron's pocket and onto the table to join in the snackaging.

Felix picked up a paper plate, placing it on his lap and piled on different treats whereas Ron and Rufus just grabbed and snarfed right from the bowls.

"See anyone?" Felix asked.

"H'mff?" Ron asked through a mouthful full of nachos. He swallowed hard, "No… should I?"

"Thought you might be looking for Kim," Felix shrugged, eating some butter popcorn.

"Oh, right, Kim," Ron frowned, pretending he hadn't thought of her until Felix's mention. "Do _you _see her?"

Felix looked around the room, "No, but who knows," he laughed, "People keep streaming in, it's hard to focus on anyone, especially when they're all dancing and mingling."

"Maybe we should have stayed near the door…" Ron said more to himself than to his buddy.

Felix smiled faintly, knowing that Kim really had been on Ron's mind the whole time. "You can if you want. I'm going to head to the game room and try to grab a controller. Sure you don't wanna come with?"

"Well, maybe," Ron shrugged. If he went into the game room, he doubted he'd come across Kim. He wasn't even sure _why_ he was so hung up on finding Kim. It wasn't like he would be able to just hook up with her. It was stupid of Ron to think that being at a party would suddenly and magically sway Kim's mind. But just the thought alone of spying her sent a thrill inside him. It was like just being able to _see_ Kim was a treat nowadays.

He sighed, giving in and shrugged. "Sure, why not."

Loading his plate with more treats, Felix motored off leaving Ron behind to speedily pile up his own plate full of chips and popcorn. Barely seeing Felix through the crowd, Ron weaved past students, some of which he recognised, even a couple of the cheerleaders on the squad. But no Kim and no Tara. Precariously, he balanced his plate in one hand, determined in his intent to deliver it safely to the game room.

The game room wasn't what Ron had expected. Truly, Ron expected a small lounge, a sofa, some armchairs along with the mandatory television, stereos and game consoles. Boy, was he wrong. The game room really _was_ a game room, not only was there a giant plasma screen television in one corner along with Ron's imagined leather sofa and armchairs where the game consoles were, but at the opposite end was another mini lounge where the stereo resided. In between was a billiard table; the room also had a mini bar, dart boards… It was amazing Gil had all of this in his house.

"Dude, this makes my bedroom look like a flipping poor house!" Ron gabbled when he entered, catching up to Felix who waited for him by the entryway.

"Heh, mine too! C'mon, there's only one guy over there, let's go grab us some controllers."

There weren't very many people in the game room, but Ron guessed it would fill up pretty fast. Actually, beside the one guy playing the game console, there were only two other people sitting on the other side where the music was blaring from.

Ron bobbed his head to the beats and sank into the armchair beside Felix who rolled up in the gap between Ron's armchair and the sofa. Ron placed his plate on the small end table and snatched up some more popcorn before snatching up one of the controllers.

"Wanna set it to three players?" Felix asked the lone guy.

"Sure!" The student agreed and together the three began one of many rounds of games.

Time passed expeditiously and Ron was so consumed in the game, that soon thoughts of Kim and Tara totally escaped his memory. In fact, if Ron had been able to think on it, he might have come to the conclusion that this was the first time in months that he was_ truly_ able to escape the dark thoughts surrounding his schism with Kim. For once, Ron was granted a blissfully free mind. Felix had been right after all (Gil too), the party was doing Ron some good.

Yet as Ron played, and yes, he was relieved of his thoughts of Kim, he did, however, notice his climbing fever. It felt like someone had suddenly begun to crank up the heat and it wasn't long before Ron found himself sweating and his mouth agape like a panting dog. He tried swallowing the heat and dealing with it, but of course this didn't help. At least his stomach was being relatively calm for once but in contrast with his fever, this wasn't much of a consolation. Ron's cheeks flushed, tingeing with redness and he squinted hard at the television screen to focus his eyes that kept wanting to blur and swim.

Soon Ron was brought completely out of his video game funk when his ears came to hear…

That laughter! Immediately Ron's rapture state vanished and he was brought back to reality in full force. It was that distinct laughter that shook Ron's brain. Slinking low in his seat, Ron cast his gaze warily over the back of the armchair and instantly his eyebrows arched and his chest thudded when he spotted Kim.

Kim. She was here! She must have come in while he had been preoccupied with his gamage. In fact, Ron marvelled, it hit just _how_ detached from his surroundings he had been for the game room was now packed with students form Middleton High. All the seats were filled at the min bar, same with over by the stereo.

And the billiard table, already five people were playing, including Kim. And… and… Ron's eyes narrowed and his glared menacingly at Josh Mankey. Ron glared at him worse than his arch-foe, Monkey Fist. Why had _he_ been invited! Kim probably asked him to come… Ron gripped the leather in his intense vexation. If Ron still planned to make any contact with Kim, how would _that_ be possible with her… no, with that… with _him_ at her side? Josh stood there now, pool stick in hand, waiting his turn.

But then…

Ron perked up as he remembered the conversation he and Josh had in the boy's room a couple of days ago… Maybe… Ron pondered this, tilting his head. Maybe Josh would _help_ Ron? After all, the pretty boy hadn't been aware of the growing closeness between Kim and Ron while their hands had been attached. Mankey just thought Ron wanted to be friends again with Kim_. '"Ron, just because I'm dating her doesn't mean I don't want you two to be friends again."'_ Isn't that what Josh had told him? Which was true, but of course, not the _whole_ truth, Ron smirked.

"This… could work…" Ron said slowly to Rufus. Ron's pet mole-rat now sat on the top of the armchair nodding his agreement, whiskers waving up and down.

"Hey, you gonna take control of your car or what?" Felix's voice interrupted Ron's thoughts.

Ron turned around in his seat and picked up the game controller, "Oh, yea. Sorry about that man." He struggled to fight back a grimace as he felt a shudder run down his spin caused by his climbing fever. Ron willed it to go away, at least for to-night.

_C'mon, lemme just enjoy myself for once!_

Ron continued to play games with Felix and various players who came and went. But all the while Ron was on his guard, constantly checking briefly over his shoulder at Kim while his fever increased drastically. She continued to play pool with Josh and friends and although Ron tried, he just couldn't overhear any conversation what with all the other chatter and music in the room.

Time passed by, Ron felt himself heat up all the more and soon he found he couldn't take it anymore. At one point he had even taken off his sweater and gave it to Felix to store for him in the back of his wheelchair. Yet even this didn't help by much. Scooping up a pile of chips and slipping Rufus back into his pocket, Ron decided to excuse himself; he couldn't just sit there any longer and he gasped frightfully from the heat as if for extra emphasis.

He decided he'd go outside for some fresh air, he remembered it was cool out from when he drove over. Ron's plan was to hopefully refresh and chilly down outside and then when he returned… Ron planned to swallow all of his nerve and approach Kim.

Looking at Kim score a shot, two balls into the corner side pocket, Ron past right by his ex-friend on his way out of the game room.

She didn't even notice him.

-ø-

"Score another for me!" Kim called out cheerily to one of Josh's artsy friends who was by the score-keeping wipe-board.

"You're really good, have you ever played billiards before?" Josh asked, strolling up to take his own turn. He said almost grudgingly, "If you keep hitting the balls into the pockets, the game'll be over before we know it."

Kim frowned slightly at his tone of voice, but stepped aside so Josh could lean forwards and take his turn. "No, I haven't; I don't own a billiard table." She watched Josh take a shot, the balls rolled, but none landed in any side pockets.

"Is it so bad that I'm winning?" she asked almost accusatory.

Josh laughed, "No, Kim, it's fine. Just maybe tone it down, yea?"

Kim was about to retort to Josh but he turned to strike up a conversation with one of his friends… about art… _again_.

_My goodness, the boy's obsessed._ Disgruntled, she blew some strands of hair from her face and rolled her eyes, leaning against her pool stick. She hadn't liked the way Josh had told her to 'tone it down' either. So, she ought to hide her skill at the game just because it was making him feel inferior to her? _Heh__, yea right, like I'm gonna. _

For the rest of the game, Josh barely said two words to Kim. The whole time, the only thing Josh would talk about was art and all related topics with his buddies. Kim found herself growing increasingly frustrated with Josh for ignoring when he _should_ be spending time with _her_.

She invited Josh to this party for a _reason_. So that the two might spend some time together, some _much needed_ time for Kim. After her dealings with Tara regarding Ron the previous day, Kim truly felt the desire to have someone comfort and console her. For some inexplicable reason, Josh just wasn't picking up on that. Sure, the guy was kind and sincere, but he never inquired as to what could be troubling her. Didn't he get that he was the only person Kim had in her life to rely on now?

Kim just flat out didn't understand Josh. Yes, he gave her reassuring smiles from time to time, but now they were borderlining on annoying. It almost felt like he was mocking her, although she knew he wasn't.

Every time Kim felt the need to have some reassurance received, she expected Josh to immediately pick up on her upset and inquire softly what her ish was. Why wasn't he at her side? Why wasn't Josh looking at her with concerned and gentle eyes? Why wasn't he putting an arm around her and mourning with her? Nuzzling her softly and murmuring in her ear?

_Oh… that's right. Because he's not Ron. The old Ron, rather…_ she thought depressively, clinging to her pool stick. Agonized, Kim cast a look about the game room. She wouldn't admit to herself that she was looking for Ron. Because she wasn't. No, really, she wasn't. Not at all. … She was.

He was no-where to be seen. But then again, she didn't even know if he had been invited or not.

_At least he's not with __Tara_, Kim thought darkly. _Not that I care… She should keep away from him, if she knows what's good for her._ She attempted to convince herself that it was for Tara's own good should Ron decide to do the same thing to Tara that he did to Kim. Not because she was jealous. Because she wasn't. She _hated_ Ron for all his cruelty and what he had attempted to do to her… on their last mission… Kim cringed, looking downcast.

"Kim!" Kim almost fell to the floor, the shock of the voice unbalancing her from the pool stick she had been leaning on. It was Josh: "Did you even hear me? I said it was your turn."

"Oh, you're actually talking to me then?" Kim asked sardonically, striding past Josh to approach the billiard table. She didn't notice the disturbed look Josh sent her for her cold remark.

Together, Kim, Josh and his artsy pals finished off their game of billiards. Kim won and to her displeasure, Josh and his friends didn't seem all too pleased. Kim allowed this to slide, anticipation rose inside her that she may take Josh aside and the two could go elsewhere without his art friends tagging along. After all, it was Kim who invited Josh. Didn't that imply that she wanted to spend some time with him?

But Kim's subliminal messages and arm tugs on Josh were fruitless. _Could anyone be more dense?_ Kim found herself yet again blowing another lock of hair from her face, petulant. She found herself automatically following Josh and his friends out of the game room.

On the way, she actually passed Monique. Kim arched her eyebrows and gritted her teeth as if to say 'ohmigooosssshhh save meeeee'. Monique walking past widened her eyes and gave her shrug, gritting her own teeth saying 'I hear ya girl!'.

But no salvation came. Kim continued to follow her leads and into the lounge, there was a large group of students there dancing in the vast area clear of furniture, grooving to the funky beats.

_Finally!_ Kim thought, tossing her head back. _Now we can start dancing!_

At the word 'dance', Kim double-blinked, finding herself thrown into a flashback. It was the Annual Villain's Ball she found herself reminiscing and of course what other scene would her mind bring forth but that of her and Ron dancing to the graceful and articulate high class music? Kim remembered all too well the feeling she had felt while gliding along with Ron. She sighed audibly. That had been _divine_. It wasn't some rushed, wild dancing like those before her, these people had no class. They were so sloppy and didn't follow the music at all. That dance she had with Ron had been special, nothing but the two of them… Just the two of them…

Kim squinted her eyes, looking down at the floor as she walked. She had to forget these memories, she _had_ to move on. She shouldn't remember that fondly, it had just been some ploy Ron used to further her closer to him. How easily she had fallen for it. Kim bit her lower lip.

_After all this time…__ I still hurt…_

Instead of Josh leading her to the dance floor Kim followed Josh and company to an available chesterfield. Glowering, she sat down beside Josh and then had the sudden urge to smash her head on something particularly sharp when Josh struck up a conversation with his friends.

Kim rolled her head back and slunk into the seat; Josh didn't even notice.

Brazenly, Kim butted into his conversation: "Josh," she took his arm earnestly, "Why don't we go dance? I like this song!"

Appearing nettled, Josh turned to Kim and gave her that now oh-so annoying smile that Kim felt the urge to slap off. It made her feel as if he were talking to her like a little child. Kim did _not_ like being talked down to. _She_ talked down to people. _Not_ the other way around.

"You can go ahead if you want," Josh replied, "I'm not really into this type of music. Next time, Kim, don't interrupt our convo, kay? That was…" Josh paused, frowning, "Kinda rude of you."

Kim widened her eyes, sitting straight in shock. The friend of Josh sitting next to him gave Kim a sceptical look and again she felt herself out-numbered and foolish. She shrunk back, releasing Josh's arm. Josh returned to his conversation.

It was becoming impeding for Kim not being able to have some sort of control over Josh, it was absolutely downright and beyond frustrating to Kim and she felt herself ready to explode. Leaning back on the sofa, Kim slapped her hands to her eyes and groaned. No-one noticed.

That was it. She was _not_ about to sit here on her ass all night twiddling her thumbs like that pretty, little ornament that she was fast becoming. Kim Possible was here for a good time and if Josh wasn't going to pick up on that, then forget it. She'd hook up with him Monday at school.

"I'm… um… I'm gonna get some air, be right back." Kim stood up and waved good-bye to Josh who smiled (yet _again_, Kim gritted her teeth) and nodded at her.

With hurried steps, Kim found the kitchen quickly, passing by the students already loitering there and headed discreetly for the back door.

Sighing, Kim pushed open the kitchen screen door and slid outside allowing the cool air to bounce around her face playfully, successfully cooling her down in temperature and state of mind; she felt the cold chill her bare back and shivered. Taking in some cooling breaths, Kim surveyed Gil's backyard. It wasn't as crowded as Kim might have initially thought it to be. There were people here and there in the vast yard. A small group of guys were gathered at one end, another groups of students scattered smoking and drinking (Kim eyed _them_ with disgust) and even some couples making out here and there. No-one really bothered Kim; she wasn't intending on venturing out into the yard, she was here only to hang on the patio until she felt ready enough to join up with Josh.

…Whom she had direly required a break from! She couldn't believe that even at a hot party like this all her boyfriend wanted to do was sit back and _talk_. Talk about _art_! What was Josh's purpose for coming to the stupid party if all he intended to do was do what he did _every _freaking day at Lunch! Kim just didn't understand him.

_I mean, doesn't he even wanna spend time with _me! She thought grudgingly and crossed her arms sourly. _I _so_ did not loose Saturday to Tweeb Duty just to warm my rear to-night on a sofa. _

The fact that Josh wanted to focus his attentions towards his friends even at a party like this instead of Kim actually stung her and made her feel even more alone. She _needed_ him. She _needed_ somebody…

No matter how many times Kim tried to wrap up Josh's conversation or invite him over to the dance room or even flat out _engage_ with the boy, he'd politely smile at her and tell her in an annoyingly sincere way that she was interrupting him.

_Interrupting my foot!_ Exhaling, Kim watched her visible breath wither and twist in the air in front of her. _Maybe I should just go home. Wonder if it's too late to forfeit the pants…_ Kim cocked one of her legs, stretching it out to look down at her dark green pants with the light green stars longingly.

"All dressed up and nothing to do?" A voice said to Kim's right, startling her.

Unfolding her arms, Kim straightened her back and turned to face Gil sitting on the counter of a wooden bench, sneakers planted onto the seat. There was a can of pop in his hands, but Kim wondered if there was something else inside.

"I didn't even see you there," Kim blustered softly.

Gil shrugged, "I gathered as much." He took a sip from the can. "So what _are_ you doing out here, Possible? I didn't think girls like you went _outside_ at parties. I thought you were an indoor type." Everyone knew what happened in the back yard at parties like these, Kim's eyes darted to the smokers, drinkers and bush-snoggers apprehensively.

"Haha," Kim replied sarcastically. "I needed some fresh air here. I don't plan on staying out here long."

"Already?"

It was Kim's turn to shrug, "Just… getting stuffy in there, that's all."

"Or maybe not as stuffy as you were hoping for," Gil grinned, his eyes darted back to the yard, surveying the people. "Lemme take a wild guess: boyfriend not as big a party animal as you predicted?"

Kim thought about giving Gil a sharp retort to mind his own business but he was right and they both knew it. Why hide it? "In a nutshell. Y'know, I thought maybe he'd like to spend some actual time with _me_ for a change."

"I thought you two spent all your time together."

"We do… kinda… I dunno…"

Gil chuckled, "What's this? Second thoughts?"

"So not," Kim frowned, furrowing her brow and crossing her arms once again. She turned away stubbornly, shifting her weight to one side. Her eyes darted nervously back to Gil and away again giving away her uncertainty, not that he needed that to tell him.

"Well, from _my_ experiences-"

"-And we all know you've had a _lot_ of them-"

Gil shot her a look and continued, "Second guesses aren't always bad. Makes you rethink things so you can perfect things the second time round."

"Great advice, you've already gone through three chances and still haven't managed to kill Ron."

"Hey," Gil sat up and pointed a finger at Kim. "The planning out of ripping a certain person's heart out and splattering their blood against a cabin wall in an act of malicious revenge isn't the easiest thing to plan out, I'll tell you that."

"I wouldn't know. I've never been a mutant."

"That's not what I heard, _Monkey Queen_."

"Ok, you're getting a little too personal on me here."

Gil laughed and sipped again from the can. "Whatever, Possible. Too bad you found my party a bore but don't worry. If you miss anything, I'm sure photos will start circulating on Monday."

"I'll be sure to catch them," Kim rolled her eyes.

She turned around to open the screen door when something across the yard caught her eye and for some reason she could not fathom, set off her inner alarum. Talking to Gil, she hadn't noticed a group in the far corner. Scowling, Kim turned around and took a step forwards. Squinting, she tried to focus on the people in the far corner. Shouts were being carried across the yard, laughter too. It was a group of guys, none she could recognise at her stand point but she did notice that they were huddled together in a circle.

"What's going on over there?" Kim asked to herself softly. The jeering was louder than before and whatever was going on, Kim didn't like it. Again, she wasn't sure why, but it snagged her interest and raised her suspicion levels to critical.

"H'm?" Gil asked lifting his head from the can then looked in the direction Kim was looking in. He narrowed his eyes then seemed to relax. "Aah, I wouldn't worry about it. Probably just some jocks tossing around a football."

Kim cast Gil a tense look then returned her sights to the throng. Fists were being raised into the air as they cheered and cackled. She didn't like this. Narrowing her eyes, she took another step forwards.

"I said I wouldn't worry about it," Gil said more firmly when he noticed that Kim wasn't backing down. "Go back inside and try to snog-up Mankey. It's my party, I'll deal with what's over there."

"No," Kim shook her head defiantly. "I better go over there."

"You're a girl, they won't listen to you." Kim shot Gil a vicious look for that remark but he did not quaver. Instead the look he gave her was equally demanding and unyielding. "I said ignore your own business, _Possible_." It sounded like a threat.

They exchanged looks again and the look Gil had on his face told Kim that he _did_ know what was going on over there. _That's what he had been doing out here,_ she thought. _That's where his eyes were at before, he was watching whatever was going over down over there._

Truculent, Kim launched herself regardless off the porch and marched forwards, arms swinging at her sides, without even looking back at Gil as she headed towards the group of jocks in the far corner of the yard. Although she did not turn around, she _did_ hear the can in Gil's hands being crushed; she ignored this, grimacing.

Striding across the yard, Kim prepared herself for the group, beefing herself up on bravado to face all of them if need be. She still wasn't sure what she'd find over there. It could in fact be nothing at all. Maybe they were just drinking and being all stupidly drunk. Kim shuddered about approaching them if they were.

When she approached them, she realised there were more of them than what she had initially estimated—that and they were a lot taller this close up. Not that Kim would allow herself to be intimidated by them. She tried to hop up and down and peer over their shoulders but still she could see nothing. Kim cringed when a particularly loud cheer exploded from a guy right beside her.

Sucking in her breath, Kim began to shove her way roughly without any mercy through the group, heading towards the source of the jeers, cheers and laughter—the center of the circle. Some of the guys she shoved by looked down at her, allowing her passage, but none were too concerned with the new comer coming to see their sport, everyone was focused on whatever was in the centre of the circle and still Kim had no clue what it was that these jocks found so enthralling.

"Outta my way," Kim growled, "What's going on here? _Immature much!_ Get your elbow outta my-"

Kim's stomach was torn between the feeling of being flipped upside down and having the wind knocked out. She uttered an estranged gasp, her lip slightly trembling in her recoiled shock. She didn't know how to react. Her heart in her chest thudded wildly against her rib cage and she felt the sudden urge to vomit.

"Ron…" she murmured. No-one heard her.

Ron was in the centre of the circle. They were picking on him, _beating him up for fun_. Kim froze as she watched a jock on the rim of the circle shove a deflated Ron hard to the other side of the circle where a large guy she recognised on as a player on the soccer team sock Ron a punch to his stomach. Doubling over, winded, Ron stumbled to the grass where then two jocks came forwards and dealt thuds to his back (hadn't his back been torn by a boulder only a few days ago?), slamming him to the grass on his stomach; he groaned softly, barely a whisper.

So this was why Gil hadn't wanted Kim to inspect the group, this was why he had been distracting her with 'advice'.

"Kick the skinny dude again!" One jock shouted out from the crowd. The crowd crowed with laughter and Ron on the ground cringed, making a feeble crying sound in fear for the pending blow he was sure to be given.

Kim looked around the circle in desperation. Everyone was cheering over Ron's cries of whimpering pain. Kim wanted someone to break up the fight for her. She didn't want to do it. Not her. _Don't make me do this,_ Kim pleaded. She couldn't help him, not with all he had done to her. _Tara__ can save him now_. But the pretty, fragile blonde was no-where to be seen. Half of Kim felt that Ron deserved this seemingly unprovoked pummelling, perhaps every punch was a revenge blow for everything he had done to Kim. Yet the other half of her knew if she just ignored the pummelling she'd be just as bad as the ones doing the beating. She wrestled with her conscience, not knowing what to do.

Looking around, Kim now saw faces she recognised and realised not all of them were guys. Bonnie. She spotted Bonnie and Brick to one side laughing. No-one was going to stop this, if no-one had already, why should they now when they were all enjoying this sickening sport? She looked down at Ron again, he looked so pathetic and helpless. _He needs my help and I help people_, she reminded herself. _Although I'm not sure if I'd classify Ron's repulsive self as a _person

In any case, Kim took in a deep breath and a step forwards as one jock leapt forward and double kicked Ron in the side with painful hardness.

"Alright, break it up!" Kim shouted, spreading out her arms. As soon as she spoke, the jocks slowly ceased their laughter to look at the red-head that had made her way to the center of the circle to stand boldly beside Ron. Kim looked down at Ron grimly. His hand clinging to the grass was near white against the darkness around them. He was laying down on his stomach, gasping for air; he didn't look up at her but she was positive he heard her.

"Aww, c'mon, Kim, quit ruining our fun like last year!" one jock shouted out.

Kim looked up and shot him sharp look that quickly quietened him. They all read the papers. They all knew what Kim was capable of.

"You can _not_ just walk in here and stop us," Bonnie spoke out brashly, strutting forwards, hands on hips (_Dressed like a tart_, Kim sang in her mind, rolling her eyes). "I _thought_ you didn't like this loser anymore."

"Whether I like him or not doesn't have anything to do with me stepping in. Even if it was _Drakken__-_"

"_Who?_"

Kim clicked her tongue and briefly rolled her eyes, "Never mind. The point is: beating up _anyone_ is just plain stupid." Kim looked down at Ron again, he still wasn't looking up. He coughed repeatedly, they sounded like wet coughs and it caused Kim to cringe.

"Just break it up," she said, resting her hands on her hips and staring down the many jocks surrounding her as if they were Drakken or Dementor's henchmen. "Go find your fun elsewhere."

Feeling movement by her leg, Kim again looked down at Ron. He was finally shifting himself to stand up, grunting at his injuries as he did so. She waited until he was standing beside her until Kim stepped forwards and in front of a few jocks. Glaring at them, they stepped aside and allowed her leave with Ron stumbling clumsily alongside. Without looking back, Kim could hear the groans and muttering complaints from the group.

During the walk back to the house, Kim didn't look at Ron, she didn't want to. She feared the emotions that might come to her if she studied Ron's state of being from the beatings. She had felt something momentarily when she had first seen Ron in the centre of the circle, when she had seen the jocks beating on him.

The emotion had come without any warning and she daren't put a name to it. It was an emotion she didn't want to feel towards Ron anymore, a feeling that she _shouldn't_ be feeling towards Ron. Not since his attempt back in Australia. Again that memory came to Kim's mind and she shivered involuntarily and felt increasingly uncomfortable being this close to Ron almost alone in the dark as he padded softly after her.

Without even thinking, her eyes quickly darted to him, he was looking at her. This frightened her and she glued her eyes, now wide, back to the house. She thought rapidly, adrenaline surging inside of her. Kim was beginning to feel uncomfortable again and she _had_ to find Josh… even if he was talking about boring artsy stuff, at least she'd feel safe. At least she'd be away from this monster that walked beside her.

"Thanks for saving me."

Kim jolted and rooted to the spot, her hair swishing behind her. When she stood stock-still, Ron halted beside her. She turned to face him. There was some blood on his face, his nose was bleeding still and there was a cut above his eyebrow and on his lip that were bleeding faintly as well. At least he wasn't coughing up blood, Kim had worried about that when she had heard his wet coughs and no missing teeth either, another plus. He'd probably have bruises surfacing later.

Kim almost stuttered the words 'no big' but quickly held her tongue. She noticed that he was standing a respectable distance away from her—she had to give him that. His tone of voice certainly didn't sound like he was trying to come on to her or anything like that. It sounded… like he was standing: respectful.

"I… I'd be in a lot worse shape, heh, if you hadn't come along." He sniffed, holding back some more blood from his nose. "I, uh, I know you don't like much 'n stuff, but it's cool, y'know, that-"

"I didn't save you because I like you," Kim felt the necessity to state and reached into her pocket and pulled out a tissue. "Don't wipe your blood on your shirt, it's gross."

"I never said you did," Ron said, replying to he before statement. He looked at the tissue she had handed him awkwardly but took it without touching her, "Thanks," he mumbled and wiped his nose, then dabbed his lip.

"I told Bonnie it's stupid to beat up on somebody." Kim paused a moment, "Unlike _some_ people, _I_ have conscience." Ron recoiled at her words, double blinking. "And I better not have gotten any grass stains on my pants either," she growled, scooping out her pant legs for any grass stains.

As she checked out her pants, Kim allowed her eyes to wander onto Ron. She thought he might attempt to say something, but he remained silent. Slouched over, his eyes hung sadly, watching her. Kim felt her bravery shrink and her breath rattle, forming in front of her visibly. When she saw his fond, benign eyes so hurt, she wanted to…

Annoyed with herself, Kim cast her gaze away and headed back to the house again.

"Thanks anyway," Ron said gently, walking with her again, but still putting distance between them. "Y'know…" he ventured, "There was a time when you liked helping me. Remember when you slammed me into the door and-"

Again Kim rooted to the spot and she whipped around, eyes wide at Ron. He stopped himself looking at Kim with trepidation, probably fearful for her reaction.

"I _don't_ want to remember!" she stated flagrantly.

"Why?" Ron returned softly.

She faltered. Kim almost took a step towards Ron, but instead took one back. "Because!" her voice rose with passion, "It…" _It hurts…_ "I never want to remember those things _ever_ again. Don't you start playing these mind games with _me_, Ronald Stoppable! Why can't you just…" Kim grappled with what to say, stuttering and stammering while Ron stood silently observing her with… _those eyes!_ "No. Just, no. I'm not going there." She turned around, shaking her head more at herself rather than at Ron and resumed her walk.

Ron resumed his walk too, stumbling and wincing from the pain. "Kinda wish you'd talk to me about what's on your mind, KP."

"I don't want to talk to you," Kim said without looking at him.

"Why?"

"Because I don't like you."

"Why?"

"Because of what you did to me!" Kim rounded on Ron again and he recoiled from her angered flare. "Do you have _any_ idea how badly you screwed up my life! Do you have _any possible idea_ how cruel, selfish and… and… MEAN you are? The things you did? You're so selfish and just… such a… Well I know who you really are now and I don't like you one bit anymore."

"Anymore?"

"Stop that! Stop messing with my head! I'm on to your stupid games and I'm not going to let myself be treated badly by you. I can't believe what a jerk you really are, Ron. Now get this:" she thrust a finger in his face, "I saved your butt back there; YOU are in debt to ME. You better be glad I helped you at all after what you tried to do to me back in Australia. In fact, you should be glad I'm not calling the cops on you—you could go to JAIL for what you attempted to do. Do you get that at all? So BACK OFF. ENDOFSTORY."

Kim panted briefly, looking at Ron as he soaked in all of her words.

"I wish you'd listen to me. Like you promised."

Kim growled under her breath. _Still_ Ron persisted to play these mind games with her and it sickened her. Lip curling, wheeling around,Kim said nothing until she reached the porch, the door handle in her hand. Gil was gone, she was relieved. She didn't want to have to deal with him again. Dealing with Ron was enough for her. Kim turned back to Ron and gave him one last look: confusion, but with a hidden hurt behind her eyes. They darted to the backyard scenery, then back to Ron.

"I wonder what you were doing out here in the first place," she replied darkly, and slipped into the house.

It was too late, but Ron wanted to shout out to Kim. He wanted to tell her he'd been out here for fresh air, not to smoke or drink or any of that garbage and the jocks just mugged him! Well _excuse_ Ron if he had been experiencing worsening fevers and stomach aches. Not that Kim knew. Not that Kim would _care_._ Excuse_ him for wanting to catch some fresh air. 'I'd like to ask you the same question!' he wanted to counter at her, not that he really doubted her intentions for coming out here. He knew her explanation was more than likely the same as his (minus the fever part).

Grudgingly, Ron kicked a small stone in front of him and exchanged a dry look with Rufus who only just ran up onto his shoulder and gave his owner a pitying look. This was all too maddening for him. If only he hadn't had that run in with her, maybe he hadn't he'd still consider approaching Kim. But now, after that conversation, Ron felt his courage deflate. Kim made it quite clear she didn't want to encounter him again (that night).

Ron allowed some time slide after Kim disappeared behind the screen door. Sighing to himself, Ron rubbed one of his forming bruises on his arm and slid inside as well, he didn't want to hang around outside any longer. He doubted Kim would be there to save his behind again if the group decided to go at him again.

Inside the kitchen, Ron surveyed the room but Kim was no-where to be seen.

_Probably gone off to find Mankey_, he thought bitterly. Hands in his jean pockets, Ron slunk off past teens raiding the refrigerator, a group chatting and a couple snogging on one of the counters. Ron avoided the sitting room, guessing Kim to be there. He really didn't want to catch her eye again, not so soon. That and he was slightly unsettled about how he might find her. Not that Kim was the type of girl to make-out with a guy in public… but the party atmosphere caused Ron's imagination to wander.

Instead, Ron directed himself to the game room where he was sure to find Felix playing video games with a host of other people on Gil's giant plasma-screen television. Sure enough, Ron spotted his friend seated in his wheelchair as per usual beside the dark sea-green sofa, controller in hand, thumbs whirling from button to button.

Ron plopped himself in a black-leather armchair next to Felix and picked up a bowl of popcorn next to Felix's chair. His felt his pains from the beating, he was ever so thankful to be able to sit down and rest. O, his _back_, how it ached!

"Mm, BBQ," Ron commented as he crammed his face full of popcorn.

"Oh hey, Ron-man," Felix greeted, his eyes barely darting from the television to Ron. "Where've you been? Haven't seen you around."

"Heh, been… around…" Ron shrugged, slumping further into the seat and resting his foot on the cushion.

"Hey, why don't your grab a controller and play along?"

"Sure, nothing better to do."

Felix cast Ron an agonized looked before leaning forwards in his chair to look at his fellow gamers. "Pass up a controller," Felix called out down the sofa. "Kick out the guy that keeps blasting himself."

While one gamer got the boot, Felix turned back to Ron, "Aww, c'mon. If you have a sour 'tude, you won't have any fun at all. Cheer-up, Ron-man, it's a party… … and on the bright side, you haven't had any run ins with spiked punch yet."

"Or Prince Wally," Ron muttered, cramming more barbeque flavoured popcorn into his mouth.

"True, true," Felix grinned.

The girl sitting on the sofa next to Felix passed him the available controller, "Here," she said with a familiar Hispanic accent.

Ron leaned forwards and realised that it was Zita Flores in an orange top speckled with glittery flowers. Ron couldn't believe he missed her sitting right there.

"Oh hey, Ron!" Zita smiled, giving a quick wave only to pick up the controller and turning her gaze back to the game character selection on the television.

Felix leaned towards Ron and said in a whisper out of the side of his mouth, "That girl's got major game skills. I think I'm in love!"

Ron grinned, flicking more popcorn into his mouth and then flicked some into Rufus' open mouth. Dusting off his hands and picking up the controller, Ron shook his head still grinning as he spied Felix gazing at Zita out of the corner of his eyes. Ron recalled when he had a crush on Zita last year. That had blown over fairly quickly; it was clear Zita didn't see anything special in him. Ron had moved on quickly.

But he was glad for Felix, if only things would turn around for himself. He frowned, thinking of Kim once again. Was he still willing to make any contact with her after what had just happened? If only there was some way to make her _listen_ to him. All he needed was for her to _listen_. For her to realise that she had misheard his thought. But how would _that_ be possible?

Ron's thumbs danced across the controller as he interacted with one of the players to fight them. Maybe later then, he considered. He'd allow some time to pass before making his final decision. Maybe Kim would rethink herself in that time. Not that Ron highly expected that. Kim _never_ rethought herself. She had always been stubborn, in the past, it had been a trait Ron liked about her. One of many. Now he struggled with her stubbornness. All the traits he had found special about Kim in the past, Ron now found to be exasperating when trying to make contact with her.

He pondered on that. What could _that_ mean?

Sticking his tongue out as he played, Ron battled against Felix. He pulled out some tricky combos, but Felix was always two steps ahead and did some major damage to his character. Ron decided to flee from the battle and reengage after he found a healing spot.

Again, thanks to the video game, Ron's mind was relieved of the dark cloud that was hovering over him, constantly watching and waiting to pounce on him as soon as he returned to reality.

Rufus beside Ron cheered him on, but he lost quite a few rounds. Still, this didn't seem to upset Ron as much as it might have in the past and he laughed in his own defeat. Ron high-fived Felix after they decided to team up and had wiped out player one together, he took the time to cram some more of popcorn into his mouth and he eagerly returned to the game.

"Oh, dude, I am _so_ gamed out," Ron finally breathed, laying down the controller on his lap and leaning back in the armchair. "I think I sprained my thumb," Ron lifted his thumb to his face and inspected his finger with extra caution, flexing it back and forth.

Felix chuckled, "Great game, Ron! Yea, watch those thumbs, don't wanna bust them before the new Zombie Mayhem game comes out."

"Right, don't wanna have them amputated. That'd be, like, a fate worse than death. … A fate worse than _monkeys_. Yo, what's the time?"

Felix checked his watch, "H'm—eleven thirty-seven."

"Kinda late," Ron remarked.

"Not that late," Felix shrugged and picked up his controller again, eyeing Zita. He turned back to Ron, "Are you thinking on leaving?"

"Heck no," Ron gave him an incredulous look, "S'not _that_ late. Just curious, man. Actually…" Ron looked to his empty plate. Rufus on the armrest looked up at Ron with pleading, beady eyes, pointing to the empty plate and then rubbing his tummy. "I'm gonna go fill up mah plate with s'more snackages. Save my spot?"

Felix picked up Ron's controller and placed it beside him, "No problem. Bring me a pizza slice, if you can while you're at it."

"Kay," Ron nodded and picked up his and Felix's paper plates; Rufus ran up Ron's arm and sat on top of his head, surveying the people and going-ons in the game room. "BRB!"

"TTFN."

Ron smirked slyly, leaving Felix with Zita. With the plates in hand, Ron lifted himself from the armchair and headed out the game room. As he did, he looked about for Kim but couldn't spy her distinctive red-hair anywhere inside the room. He continued to keep an eye out for her as he walked down the hallway, but still no sign of her.

"Looking for her too?" Ron asked, trying to look up at Rufus on his head.

"Ahuh, yup, yup!" Rufus assured and leaned as far as he could over Ron's head, scanning for Kim.

They were back in the dance room where the food trays were. Navigating himself through the dancers, Ron found the food and smiled delightfully to find that much was still left—including the pizza! Ron picked up one slice for himself, then hesitated before piling on another slice and then one more on Felix's plate. Ron loaded his plate with popcorn and chips (Rufus chattered on his head for more nachos) and added some to Felix's as well.

Ron was about to pick up the plates and return to the game room when he found himself suddenly interested in the sofa area.

Perking up, he spotted Kim with Josh and some guys he often saw sitting with them in the cafeteria at lunch time. But it wasn't them Ron found so interesting. It was Kim. Her manner, her attitude. She looked positively, downright _bored_. Bored, upset, lonely, depressed… _and_ she was with _Josh_. Kim was slouched deep into the sofa beside her boyfriend, a cup of punch in her hand and a single ranch flavoured chip in the other. Her hair looked fairly messy, her eyes half open, she almost looked undead. Ron couldn't help but notice she he was eyeing the dance floor, almost as if she were jealous. Instantly Ron understood her sitch.

Ron found this _highly_ interesting.

"You seeing what I'm seeing, Rufus?" Ron whispered to his little buddy on shoulder.

"Uhuh, uhuh," Rufus nodded, cramming a chip in his mouth. He waved his little mole-rat claws from Ron to Kim, indicating to Ron to make his move. "Go talk!"

"Nu-uh, no-way, pal," Ron shook his head and took a few nervous steps backwards. "N-not yet… I can't… she doesn't want me to… You were there outside, Rufus. You heard what she said to me. She hates me. She thinks I'm the TOTAL jerk. Man, do you even know what she _thinks_ I tried to do to her back in Austria?"

"_Australia_!" Rufus slapped a paw to his little, pink forehead. "Now or never!"

"Maybe never," Ron murmured hastily and took a few more steps backwards… and collided with someone behind him.

"Yo, dude, watch it!" Gil turned around in agitation. But upon seeing Ron, Gil flashed a grin. "Oh, we have to stop meeting this way, Ronnie."

"Shut-up."

Gil's eyes darted from Ron to Kim—then back again.

"What?" Ron asked, shrinking back.

Again, Gil's eyes darted from Ron to Kim, then back again. Then he grinned. A large grin that unnerved Ron to the bone. _This _so_ does not bode well._

"What are you thinking?" Ron asked nervously.

"You know, you are _so_ going to thank me one day," Gil said too optimistically for Ron's liking. "You'll be so in debt to me, that'll you'll gladly shoot yourself in the head for me, just like I always wanted."

"…"

"Y'know, after you spawn with Kim, then I'll have to go and kill them off as well," Gil waved his hand about as if this was not only most obvious, but almost most boring. "Can't have any Ron-related things running around the planet can we?"

"…"

"You'll see," Gil said and skirted off… towards Kim.

Immediately Ron alarumed; he took a step forwards as if to stop Gil from approaching Kim, but the boy had already reached her and Ron instantly took numerous steps back to hide himself from Kim. But he still kept a precarious eye out, watching Gil and Kim warily.

From his stand point, Ron couldn't overhear anything that was being said. Again, Gil looked way too optimistic for Ron's liking. Obviously, Gil was greeting Kim, she didn't stir. She only darted her eyes to him, looking almost comical in her slumped, bored, frazzled state. She uttered a brief word, Ron wondered if it had four letters.

Gil smiled back regardless, speaking to her; Kim continued to watch him. She shrugged half-heartedly, her eyes darting to Josh who was ignorant to her conversation with Gil, constantly talking with his art buddies. Gil replied, going into some sort of long response. Somewhere near the end, Kim's eyes flew open and she shifted herself, uncomfortable. Ron wondered if he had been mentioned yet, or if Gil intended on mentioning him at all. He half wished yes and half was a frantic no.

Kim cast her eyes away, looking riled, she spoke. Whatever Gil had said to Kim, it was distressing her. Ron had the fierce urge to come and comfort Kim, chase away Gil and put his arm around her.

At that point, Josh stood up, said something to Kim and left. Kim only shrugged at him. Her boyfriend left the room leaving his buddies to talk amongst themselves.

Back to Kim, she continued to speak to Gil, he nodded repeatedly.

Then something happened that caught Ron's eye. He had to double-blink and lean forwards, taking as many steps as he dared and still remain obscure in part of the crowd. But no, Ron's eyes weren't playing tricks on him! While Kim was looking away in angst, Gil was doing something...

_No, he's _so_ not doing that!_

And yet he was. While Kim was looking away, distracted by her own dismal talk, Gil was busy sprinkling something into Kim's drink…

_Dude, _SO_ no way!_

That was it, Ron had to do something; there wasn't any way Ron was going to allow this to happen, no matter what she had said to him previously! Without even a second to rethink himself, his concern for Kim took over and he bounded forwards, pushing through the dancers who shouted out at him for disturbing their groove.

"Kim!" Ron shouted out and leapt forwards, startling Kim. Her eyes flew wide at Ron's approach, especially when he lashed forwards actually frightening her into a scream. Gil, although Ron was too busy with Kim to notice, was grinning widely in pleasant shock. He leapt to the side as Ron snatched Kim's drink from her hand.

Kim pressed herself into the sofa, away from Ron, her eyes wide in terror. But she managed to blurt out, bewildered and incredulous, "What are you _DOING!_"

"Your drink!"

"My _drink_! Didn't you listen to _anything_ I said to you outside! Are you so deaf! _Are you so cruel!_ Ron, what do you think you're—what the… I can't… _WHAT!_"

"It's been-"

"Why can't you just LEAVE ME ALONE!" Kim's suddenly shouted sounded somewhat rash, now grabbing the attentions of a few students (most were too deaf to the music to catch on).

"-Spiked!"

"…" Kim paused. She blinked. She blinked again. Then she flew to her feet and shouted again: "YOU SPIKED MY DRINK?"

It was Ron's turn to go into shock, his own eyes flying wide. "Me! What! No way, KP! It was-"

"I can't believe you!" Kim cried, bringing her hands to her face, "Is this the thanks I get for saving your butt out there!"

"I'm just returning the favour!" Ron cried tersely back, desperate for Kim to hear him through, couldn't she hear the disparity in his voice?

But unfortunately for Ron, that was the wrong thing to say. He should have rebuked Kim. Instead, she (as usual) mistook his intentions for something else.

Her jaw dropped and she stared into Ron's eyes, shaking her head slowly. "_Favour?__ FAVOUR!_ You think spiking my drink is returning a _favour_!" she was almost sobbing.

And so was Ron. Both of them were desperate to the brink. "No! Tchach, that's so not what I meant, Kim! If I _did_, why would I admi-"

"Well, it's not like you've had a clean record in the past!" she shouted back. "Ron Stoppable, you are the most horrid person I've ever met! After all I've done for you, after what I said to you outside—you treat me like _THIS_!" Kim looked at her drink in disgust and wrestled it from Ron's grasp.

"Kim, I didn't spike your drink! I-"

"Check his pockets!" Gil said from behind a cupped hand as if to pretend it was someone from the crowd shouting this. He launched forwards and Ron recoiled as Gil reached into Ron's pants pocket (Rufus shouted out in indignation—that was HIS place Gil was intruding in!) and 'retrieved' the drug packet.

"Oh!" Gil clasped a hand to his cheek in mock devastation and held up the package. "How did _THAT_ get there!"

"YOU!" Ron shouted, his disparity slowly morphing into anger at Gil.

Kim looked at the package Ron supposedly used to spike Kim's drink with, scandalized. She blanched forwards, covering her mouth lightly with a hand. Suddenly, Kim looked sick and frail… Oh, how Ron only wanted to comfort her…

"And it's open too!" Gil pointed, "Proof he used it!"

"Y-you..!" Kim turned back to Ron, pulling away from him. "You… You're such a _JERK!_" she screamed.

Kim looked to the cup in her hand, then at Ron and back to her cup again. Then in an abrupt action, she thrust the drink at Ron, dousing him in the punch. Ron yelped, dancing backwards, unprepared for the sudden attack. Rufus on his shoulder shrieked and ran into his pocket to hide. Both could hear Gil muffling his laughter.

Ron felt like sobbing and he lifted his arms looking down at the drink spilt all over his new shirt Kim had spilt all over his person. Looking up, he saw Gil pulling out his camera cell to take a photo. But to Ron's great relief, Kim reached out and snapped the camera phone in half in her rage, Ron almost smirked. But then Kim looked back at Ron, sending him a venomous look and threw the two parts at him, fleeing from the room. The two parts hit Ron lightly on his stomach and clattered to the floor doing no damage. Ron could have sworn he heard her crying as she fled. He had the inclination to follow after, but he wouldn't, for her sake.

Hissing, Ron looked down at himself, tears forming in his eyes.

"I can't believe you did this!" he wailed at Gil.

"Hey," Gil shrugged, closing his eyes, diffident. "S'not my fault you interfered with my plan, Squeeb. My plan was to get her drugged and hook you two upstairs." Holding his hands up in desperation, he turned his back on Ron and walked calmly away, smirking.

Those few students who had turned to overlook Ron and Kim's confrontation returned to their activities, dancing, eating, making-out. Ron on the other hand grimaced, looking down at his stained shirt. At least it wasn't grape juice; he'd be able to wash this out. Groaning, Ron decided to head to the nearest bathroom for a clean-up. But the water wouldn't be able to clean away all of Ron's mess.

Ron found the nearest ground floor bathroom and knocked twice before opening the door. Thankfully, it was empty. Turning to the tap, Ron picked up a face cloth from the hamper and lathered it up with soap and began to scrub mercilessly at the stain on his new shirt.

"Aww, man," he muttered, Rufus watching him on the counter. "And this shirt wasn't cheap either, just _had_ to happen to the one I actually didn't get at Smarty-Mart…"

He continued to scrub at the stain, hoping it was coming out. He wasn't too sure because the water on his shirt was also darkening around the stain and it was hard to tell which was water and which was the stain.

Although he was sorely upset about his new shirt, it wasn't even as half as upset as he was about Kim. It was _impossible_ now. Absolutely impossible. There wasn't anyway he could bridge their friendship now. Kim hated him, thought him to be so many things that he wasn't. If only he could explain, if only their hands had never been attached, or detached… O! If only there weren't so many 'if only's'! It seemed like he and Kim were destined to never be together. That there was nothing anything Ron could do no matter how desperate he was, no matter how many attempts…

Ron paused, looking down at his shirt and felt the tears again begin to surface in the corners of his eyes, he gritted his teeth, fighting them back. Sobbing softly, he scrunched up the wash cloth in his grip as tight as he could, wringing the water onto the floor, creating a puddle.

Ron wished he could just move on. _Forget it, forget Kim,_ his spiteful side wanted to say. _Too bad for her if she wants to miss out on the Ronshine! If she wants to be all high-horse and ignorant, then that's her ish and there ain't anything I can do about it and that's too bad for HER. She can screw up her life by hanging with that monkey-boy. That's HER decision, I have my own life._

But it was easier to think than to abide to.

Ron still felt that surging feeling inside of him when he thought of Kim. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't get over her. They had an enormous history. Ever since preschool it had been nothing but the two of them. As they grew up, all they had ever known was each other, practically every day they saw each other and spent their time with. School, the mall, Bueno Nacho, missions, her house… If they were separated for a day or more at a time, it was only because of something out of their control. Ron going to camp, or him being kidnapped (again).

To have Kim suddenly feel detested at the sight of him pained Ron. He just wanted to _be_ with her again. Even if she wouldn't… want to be with him like on the last day of their hand-holding. Even if she didn't ever want that again, couldn't he at least be friends with her again?

It didn't make sense to Ron. He was hurting so badly that it felt like another sickness to be away from Kim. Wasn't Kim feeling the same way? How could she not? Not any small part of her missed him? No small part that wanted to say 'screw it. Forget what I think Ron did—I miss him and can't bare to be without him anymore'? Not at all? Ron would have guessed her to have some sort of compassion, some sort of side that longed to be with him again just as he had for her. Didn't their past mean anything to her?

Apparently not. And what did that say to Ron? It spoke volumes, volumes he wished he could be deaf to.

Sighing, Ron felt his life to be worthless without Kim. There was nothing that could raise his mood. Not even Bueno Nacho.

A knock on the door made Ron whirl around, half expecting it to be the jocks from outside ready to give him another pounding. His bruises were still sore from the beatings (not to mention his _back_!). He flinched as the door opened slowly when he gave no response. It was… it was…

Tara.

"Oh!" she said, covering her mouth with a hand when she found someone already inside. But then she recovered realising it was Ron. "Ron?" she asked, sounding slightly bewildered.

"Hey, Tara," Ron responded, also sounding slightly shocked.

"I didn't think you came, I haven't seen you around all night!"

"Yea, I was chillin' in the game room with Felix."

"Oh," she giggled, "I haven't been in there yet! Have you been here long?"

He nodded, "Hours now," he shrugged and picked up the wash cloth, covering it in more soap and continued to scrub his shirt.

Tara looked puzzled and stepped inside further. "What happened to your shirt?"

"Ah, oh, um," Ron debated on whether or not he should tell her the true story about his stain-spilled shirt. He decided against it. "Heh, you know me, Mr Clumsy; just spilled some juice on my shirt, is all."

Rufus arched an eyebrow at Ron and he shot his pet a 'keep quiet' look.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Tara mulled, looking down at Ron's spoiled shirt, a hand to her cheek in pity. "I hope it washes out."

"Yea, no kidding; me too," Ron muttered. Giving up, Ron dropped the washcloth on the counter and turned on the tap again. Picking up a new facecloth, he soaked this in water and cleaned out the soap on his shirt. "You dunno how to launder this do you? You know those little symbol thingies on the inside tag?"

"No, sorry!" Tara replied, "My maid does my laundry."

"… That's… convenient," Ron replied with a slight frown then returned to scrubbing his shirt.

Tara stood in silence as she watched Ron attack his poor, brand-new shirt. The silence bothered Ron, so he looked up at Tara, watching her observe him. She looked very pretty that evening, her curly blonde hair falling nicely on her bare shoulders. She was wearing what she had purchased yesterday when the two had hit the stores at the mall, the teal glittery top and black glittery jeans. Tara suddenly noticed he was looking at her and she blushed.

"D-Did you want to, um, to dance after you clean your shirt?" Tara asked.

"Huh?" Ron asked, waking from his stupor. "Oh, um, well, I really should bring Felix his plate. He's sorta been kinda waiting on it for awhile."

"M-maybe after..?"

Ron thought this over in his mind. It's not that he didn't want to dance _with_ Tara it was more the fact that he really wasn't up to it. He still wasn't feeling well, not to mention he was sore all over not just from the beat up outside but his back still ached fiercely from the boulder incident and now it hurt even more so with the added beatings.

Yet Ron didn't have the heart to turn down Tara. To say no looked like she'd break into a thousand pieces, he could tell by looking at her. It was costing her a great amount of courage to ask him, courage she didn't have. Plus, saying no might drive her away from him, something Ron really wasn't striving for at this time in his life.

"Yea, ok, that'd be fun," he said and gave her a reassuring smile which calmed her nervous state greatly.

Rufus on the counter climbed back up Ron's arm to sit on his shoulder. Throwing down the other facecloth, Ron gave up on his shirt, still unsure if he had completely washed out the stain or not.

"I gotta go back and get the plates," he told Tara, she nodded and followed him out of the bathroom and back into the dance room.

Anxiously, Ron cast a nervous eye out for Kim but she was no-where to be seen. Josh was back now with his friends, but verily Kim-less.

The plates were exactly where Ron had left them and he picked them both up precariously as to not to spill anything (especially his plate which had much more on it). Carrying the plates, Ron again weaved himself in and out of the dancers, worried about spilling the food.

"Here, let me help," Tara offered and took one of the plates from Ron. He was pleasantly surprised.

"Uh, thanks!"

"Your welcome!"

_How odd it is to hear 'your welcome' and not 'no big'?_

Returning to the game room, Ron didn't sit down again. Instead he gave Felix his plate.

"Thanks, man," Felix smiled up at Ron, "Kinda took you awhile. Much happen?"

_Heh_much_ indeed_, Ron had the impulse to respond but decided against giving Felix the whole story, certainly not with Tara at his side to overhear.

Tara placed Ron's full plate on the side table as Ron replied to Felix. "Just ran into people-Oh! Like Tara here," he brandished his hands at Tara who nodded politely at Felix. "I'm actually gonna hang in the other room for awhile. You can give up my controller if anyone wants it, I dunno when I'll be back."

"Ok, enjoy yourself, and thanks again," Felix replied.

Tara and Ron left the room again, heading back to the dance room. Kim hadn't returned, Ron impulsively noticed. Not that he cared. Not that he had been looking for her after what she had done to him. In fact, looking down at his shirt, what she had done actually _angered_ him. The nerve of her!

_That was, like, _so _way past uncool right there, Kimbo._

The song playing was a groovacious one and immediately Ron felt the groove inside himself growing to the funky beats. Ron was a smooth dancer and he found himself slipping into the song easily. Finding an open space, he and Tara danced together, in front of one another.

Ron almost gave a joking remark at Tara's dancing, but thought better not to. She might take it as an actual insult rather than just playful banter. (_Like Kim and I always used to have._) Tara was more literal minded than Kim was. It wasn't that Tara was a _bad_ dancer. She was just a little rigid at first, to Ron's keen dancing eye he surmised it looked like she wasn't sure if she really wanted to dance or how—almost as if dancing was slightly embarrassing for her.

"C'mon, Tara," Ron persuaded cheerfully; Rufus on his shoulder doing his own little mole-rat dance. "Get yerself into da _groove_. Feel it and move to it!" Ron swayed himself from side to side in an easy glide, moving his feet effortlessly.

Tara again blushed furiously, but let out a few giggles, "I'm trying!"

Slowly, Tara started to mimic Ron's moves with some hesitation. Eventually, Tara slowly slipped into the music as well and her movement became less constrained. Laughing, Ron waved his arms and swung to the music. Of course she was never as skilled as Ron but she did fairly well, Ron mused.

"That's right!" Ron laughed causing Tara to giggle, Rufus sniggered on Ron's shoulder too.

They danced to a number of hip songs before Ron had to stop. He apologised to Tara, but the soreness became just too much for him. His beating, his back even his stomach… Ron also wondered if the heat he was now feeling was a returning fever or only from his repetitive dancing. Whatever the case, Ron _needed_ to stop for the time being.

Thankfully, Tara was understanding. She was definitely more concerned than disappointed, this relieved Ron and she walked with him to an available sofa. Together they sat down, Ron exhausted from the dancing.

"Will you be alright?" Tara asked tentatively.

Ron didn't hear her. His eyes had flown elsewhere. Kim must have returned to the room while he had been preoccupied dancing with Tara. For there she sat with Josh Mankey. She still looked bored out of her mind. Still Josh wasn't engaging with her, that made Ron mad like all the times in the past. How long could that boy talk with his friends! And what was he always talking about! He felt a surge to save Kim from her disparity.

"Ron?"

"Huh? Oh, say what?" Ron asked, blustering that his mind had been elsewhere.

"I asked if you would be alright," Tara repeated, looking dreadfully distressed for Ron; it touched him.

_At least _someone_ cares about me…_

"Ah, for sure," Ron winked at her, "Just give the Ronster a few to recoop and I'll be one bon diggity dancah grooving on the floor with you once more!"

Ron's slang caused Tara to giggle behind cupped hands; this eased Ron, making him smile. Suddenly, her smile vanished from her face and it looked as if she was doing some deep thinking.

Ron titled his head inquisitively at Tara, her eyes weren't on him, but they flickered back and she looked nervous and frightened. She bit her lower lip and crossed her arms.

"What's the sitch?" Ron asked, beginning to eye her prudently.

"O-or…" Tara stammered, a hand to her mouth, Ron noticed her blushing intensely.

"Or what?" he inquired.

"Or… or maybe… we could… we could go…" Tara's eyes darted to the side, suddenly not wanting to look at Ron anymore. He could only tilt his head in confusion (as he so often did in life). "Could go… upstairs…"

At this, Ron's eyes widened. He was sure it wasn't his fever this time but suddenly Ron felt increasingly hot and uncomfortable. He fidgeted anxiously in his seat, feeling himself sink further into the plush.

"U-upstairs?" Ron asked, his voice going strangely into a higher pitch. Just as everyone knew what happened in the backyard at these kinds of parties, everyone also knew what happened _upstairs_. And this particular everyone actually included Ron (for once).

Tara was struggling with ardent difficulty to control her fervent blushing but appeared adamant in her decision. Her eyes, Ron looked into her light and innocent blue eyes, they were boring directly into his, begging him for a response. A response that wouldn't shoot her down, it'd be like an insult to her and Ron didn't want to hurt her feelings, not when he so desperately needed a gentle friend like her at his side.

How to respond? Yes? No? Say yes and have doubts or say no and hurt Tara's feelings? And what about…?

Ron's eyes flew from Tara's over to Kim in an instant. He flustered and felt even more fidgety when he saw that Kim was looking directly at him; that was something he hadn't been expecting. Had she overheard then? What was that look she was sending him? There wasn't any way Ron could comprehend it. It wasn't like the look she had speared him with when she tossed her drink at him. The only thing Ron really could comprehend at the time was that he was feeling extremely hot, more than before.

Tara was still waiting for his answer, he realised. Looking back at her, she appeared more troubled than before as more time slid by for Ron's answer. The more time that went by, the more it became apparent to Tara that Ron was doubting her inquiry.

Yet Ron couldn't help himself but look back once again to Kim and their eyes met.

_C'mon, Kim… C'mon, KP, come over to me and, y'know, even though she doesn't deserve it and no offence to her, blow up at __Tara__. C'mon, be like how you used to be and come sit beside me. Come lead me away and let's go hang together or dance or something, maybe even leave this stupid party and head to Bueno Nacho. Say you're sorry and I'll say I'm sorry… Please, if there's been a time when I needed you to do this for me more than any other it's right now!_

Did she want to? What was behind those green eyes of hers? Baffled, Ron saw no hidden malice behind them like he would have expected. He certainly would have expected to see some sort of negative emotion directed at him behind her eyes after the spiked juice incident.

But no matter how much Ron tried to find this unwanted hate, he couldn't locate it. Was it confusion behind Kim's eyes Ron found? Perhaps… concern? Or was Ron's mind playing tricks on him?

_Kim… prove me right and come over her and take me away out of this sitch. Come and rescue me like you always do…_

It never came. Kim moved, she wrapped her arms tightly around Josh's arm: an act of distinct rebellion against Ron. Although there might or might not have been something behind Kim's eyes, she made no inclination to move. Nothing.

_Cos__ you still hate me. You'll never like me again. I gotta learn to deal with that now… no matter how much I hate it…_

Thoughts of him and Tara at the mall yesterday came to his mind and Ron felt a grim reality settling inside his mind. That was right, Tara was his future now, not Kim. What Tara had said to him was true: '_"You should be thankful for what you have, not cry over what you can't have. And... might not ever have."_'. And Ron would never have Kim again. Never. He had to stop dwelling on her or he would dig himself further into a pit of depression and then not even Tara could pull him out of it.

Narrowing his eyebrows at Kim, he turned to Tara and said hastily, "Yea, sure. C'mon, let's go." He didn't even give Tara the time to react or fluster, without a second look at Kim, he took Tara by the arm gently and walked with her towards the stairs. Beside him, Tara was blushing furious and stammering something, but whatever it was didn't even register in Ron's mind. He was delving much too deeply into his own sombre thoughts to really care.

And he most certainly did _not_ turn back to look at Kim.

Who felt like Ron had just struck her swiftly across the face.

Kim had been bored out of her mind yet again and debated just throwing up her arms in despondency and giving up, telling Josh she wanted to leave; there was nothing for her here if Josh wasn't going to even engage with her. Not with all that had happened between her and Ron, she didn't want to risk anything else happening to further her misery.

The music was loud, there were so many people talking, Kim couldn't hear Ron's conversation with Tara… until he had yelped one singular word.

Upstairs.

Kim's eyes and ears flew open at the sound of that word. _Everyone_ knew what happened upstairs at parties and this instantly earned Kim's attention. She stared at Ron from where she sat and felt unnerved when he stared back at her.

_Don't you even dare…_ Kim thought when looking into his eyes and trying to comprehend the look in his eyes. _There's so no way… No…_She felt like gasping in horror when she connected that dreadful word to Ron… then to Tara beside him. _Don't do it, Ron… don't you _dare_ even _think_ on it…_Kim instantly clung to Josh for support that never came.

But then Ron had narrowed his eyes at her. Kim wasn't stupid, it was spite. He was finally showing anger at her for the way she had been treating him.

_Ha!_ She wanted to say to him, _Me__ treat you! How about the way _you've _been treating _me And when she thought of how he had been treating her, she felt the desire to break out into great wracking sobs. She wouldn't do that here or now.

Or maybe she would.

She watched in utter dismay as Ron spoke something to Tara, then stood up and led her… led her… Kim choked and could barely even admit it in her own mind let alone see it with her own eyes. Together, Ron and Tara walked up the stairs, disappearing from Kim's sights.

Kim gasped, pushing herself straight in her seat. Even with the two of them gone from her sight, she stared in that spot where they had disappeared. The stairs… She had the sudden urge to march after them, but she held herself, her mind reeling with what she had just witnessed and then… and then to _comprehend_ what would happen next…

Again, Kim blanched and felt as if she would be sick to the stomach. Reeling, she turned to Josh at her side and stared at him bewildered. Why wasn't he picking up on her sickening grief! Her lip curled in disgust, but whether at Josh's insensitivity or what she had just seen, even Kim herself did not know.

"Josh," she said suddenly, not giving a damn about politeness.

Josh turned from his conversation, he was about to speak, but Kim again interrupted. "I'm… uh, not feeling well. I'm going home."

"Going home?" Josh asked, slightly put off. "Already?"

"_Yes_, already," she snapped back; Josh recoiled.

Josh turned back to his friends then looked at his watch. Kim felt the need to allow her jaw to drop again. He was too slow to respond for Kim's liking. She was feeling so sick to the mind and even to the stomach to what she had just beheld, she had to leave, she couldn't stay here any longer.

"Do you need a ride?" Josh asked. He had driven her here in his red convertible.

It _was_ a long walk from Gil's to her house but right then, all Kim wanted to do was flee, and as quickly as possible. She didn't have the patience to wait for Josh to walk her out the door, say good-byes, start the car, sit in the car… she didn't even want to talk to him on the drive home. She just…

"No, no, I'm just gonna go, I'll see you Monday."

"I'll phone you."

"Ok, bye," Kim turned and fled from the room. She turned just as the tears flowed from her eyes and as she pushed roughly through the dancers towards the exit. She already began to sob, breaking into a cry that she didn't understand the reason behind.

She _hated_ him. She didn't like Tara.

_If I hate him so much,_ she thought_, then why am I crying?_


	3. Damage due Regional

¤ Instalment 03 »» _Damage due_ _Regional _¤

So long ago, I don't remember when

That's when they say I lost my only friend

They said she died easy of a broken heart disease

As I listened through the cemetery trees

-Wallflowers, _'One Headlight'_

* * *

"I think she's dead." 

"Well, I'm not telling Mom Kim died, she'll think _I_ did it!" Tim huffed back to his twin, crossing his arms in firm defiance.

"You know, I don't think she breathed in hours now," Jim contemplated. "Does this mean we can use her dead body for experiments?"

"Like instead of a crash dummy!" Tim exclaimed eagerly.

"Mom and Dad won't be home for hours!"

"And we have no sitter!"

"We can do whatever we want!"

"HOOSHAH!"

Jim and Tim high-fived each other and both turned to their allegedly deceased sister on the chesterfield.

It was Saturday and their parents had left them earlier that morning, leaving Kim to baby sit her twin brothers. Hours had flown by and Jim and Tim had neither seen nor heard of their sister, they had last left her on the sofa, just as she was now. It was odd, wasn't she supposed to be sitting them? Making sure they weren't blowing up a mailbox? Her brothers found her in the afternoon when they had been heading in for lunch from outside mischief and still Kim laid there. Unmoving. Lying on her stomach, her head buried not visible, into a pillow, her arm hanging over the side: dead.

Her brothers snuck up on her, Tim about to poke his sister's lifeless body when… Kim's hand flew out and snatched her brother's hand!

"AAAH!" the Tweebs screamed, "ZOMBIE!"

"Don't you even _dare_ cause any trouble," a growling sound issued from Kim's throat causing her brothers to scream even more. Kim finally lifted her head to face her brothers.

"AAAAAAAH!" they pointed at the deep bags under her eyes, "She's not DEAD. SHE'S _UNDEAD!_"

With all the flailing her brothers were doing in their terror, Kim released her grip on Tim's arm, allowing the twins to flee from the room and up the stairs.

"Tweebs!" Kim shouted after their retreating screams. Kim heard the slam of their door upstairs and she groaned to herself. With much effort, she pushed herself up into a sitting position on the sofa. Her brothers had been right about one thing, she hadn't moved in hours.

Kim sighed, staring at the blank television screen before her, silence surrounding her once again. The girl felt absolutely miserable beyond all comprehension. Could she possibly be feeling worse than coming home from that Motor Ed mission gone wrong? Probably.

All Kim had done on her run, covering the great distance between her house and Gil's last night, was cry. It could have been worse than when she had cried the night she and Ron tore apart. Last night, she had cried non-stop. She cried all the way up to her room, locking herself inside her sanctuary… alone. Alone while Ron kept company with Tara for the whole night. That sickened her again when she had thought of it last night, her all alone in her bedroom, crying her eyes waterless. It made her so sick inside that she developed the hiccoughs.

Shaking, she had reached for her Pandaroo and squeezed her only comfort tightly. Then she had spotted the Rabphin on her bedside table. She didn't know if she wanted to touch it anymore. Because Ron had given it to her, given it to her as a part of his sick plan…

_Oh, what the hell!_ She remembered thinking that while tossing her Pandaroo aside, reaching for the Rabphin and hugged the small plush close to her, falling into controllable sobs all through the night. Kim couldn't stop herself from thinking while she was here in desperate need for a friend, Ron was… was… and Tara… Kim shivered violently, she couldn't even _say_ it to herself, it made her so sick inside.

Kim had cried and hiccoughed the night away, eventually falling into a sleep.

The next morning, Kim hadn't been any better off. If her parents had thought her to be a wandering ghost before, they had no idea what to call her now. For it was _certainly_ worst than before. Kim barely existed. She just sort of… floated from here to there slowly. Her eyes never focused on anything directly, she looked _through_ things, not at them.

Before leaving, her Mother tried to take Kim aside and talk to her daughter for both Mr and Mrs Possible were worried about leaving the twins in Kim's care what with their daughter's current state. Not out of worry for the boys, no, they were worried for _Kim_.

But Kim hardly spoke. She shrugged at her Mother's inquiry. "So no the drama," she had told them, her voice in monotone. "I had a great time last night. Just tired."

Her parents had little faith in that reply. They had to leave though, so they bid Kim and the boys farewell, hoping their daughter would recover and be able to handle the twins.

So Kim had hit the pillow, drowning in her thoughts and sorrow. Now she could never move on, she thought. How could she? Ron…

She remembered that stupid little pact they made in their youth when they had first learnt of the Birds and the Bees. Kim now snorted. _Well, that's dead and gone._ Ron obviously didn't value their past, their long history together. He was so willing to just throw everything that had ever happened between them away for one night… and with Tara! It repulsed Kim. She couldn't believe Ron… couldn't believe it was _Tara_. Couldn't believe she agreed. Couldn't believe…

Kim had always been so possessive of Ron in the past. If anyone harmed Ron, Kim was there full force to tear up the person who was trying to wrong Ron. _Her_ Ron.

_That's right, he was _my_ Ron. Not __Tara__'s. How _dare_ she with Ron who had once been _mine_. I may hate him. I may never want to see his repulsive face again, but that doesn't mean he belongs to _you_, Tara. _Kim reminded herself that he tried to spike her drink before he went upstairs with Tara. _See, tart?_ Kim thoughts directed at the non-existing Tara._ He tried to get it on with _me_ first. How dare you come along and drag him upstairs…_

Kim wasn't jealous.

_It was almost me he slept with last night,_ she recalled, the thought sinking in. _Except I would have been drugged, I probably wouldn't have remember anything_. She shivered, remembering how close she had been to being drugged with the spiked drink. _Ron, you're so sick_, she thought grimly. _To go as far as spiking a girl's drink. Are you that desperate for me?_

_…_

_Desperate for me?_

Why hound after Kim anyway? It was _so_ obvious Tara liked him, so why did he even continue to chase after Kim? Why did he speak to her the way he did, say the things he did during the walk back to the house when she had rescued him from the jocks at last nights party? Why spike her drink and attempt what he did back in Australia when he had Tara? Kim was constantly telling Ron to back off, if not by her own words like last night, then with the looks she sent him at school. Weren't those loud and clear?

_Then why are you still after me if you have Tara who's apparently willing to do anything for you? … With you?_

Kim could surmise no answer for that. _He's not after me anymore,_ Kim thought grimly. _Not after last night. That was his decision, the look he sent me. He's telling me he's done with me. Monday at school, he'll start leaving me alone. He'll be enwrapped with __Tara__. That's good, right? That's what I want, isn't it? For him to leave me alone?_

Perhaps if Ron left Kim alone, stopped looking at her with those soft eyes that made Kim want to melt and forgive (even though she was determined she had nothing to forgive!), maybe that would be the release Kim had been looking for all this time. Then she could move on with Josh and stop remembering the past with depression.

Kim was positive that's what she wanted, to be able to move on and forget these past weeks of misery. Wasn't the reason she sent Ron all those looks because she _did_ want him to leave her alone? Or maybe because it was the only sort of communication she had left with him.

_It really is over between us now_, she thought, the idea truly hitting her for the first time and yet she felt no satisfaction. _After that look Ron sent me, he really, truly is going to start leaving me alone and concern himself with __Tara_ Taking in a deep breath, Kim breathed out slowly, rigidly. _I can let go… I'm free…_

Kim paused, soaking in this new sense of freedom. A minute passed.

_Yup, doesn't feel any different._

And what was that supposed to mean? Inside, Kim didn't feel any magic weight lifted from inside her chest. She didn't feel like tap-dancing into song or frolicking in flowers with rainbows and birdies.

In fact, the more Kim 'relished' this freedom, the more she could only think of what it cost her. Thoughts of _them_ together last night made a powerful feeling inside of Kim boil, but it was it quickly disappeared when a loud noise came from the upper floor.

Her head bolting to the ceiling, Kim growled, pushing herself out of the sofa to head up the stairs. "What are you Tweebs doing!" she hollered. "Can't I leave you alone for, like, _one single second_ without you two having blown something up!"

"We're not blowing something up!" Tim's voice came trailing down to Kim from behind his door.

"That's unlikely," Kim muttered to herself. She found herself muttering to herself more often than she used to. Maybe because back in 'used to', she had someone always at her side to listen to her. Regardless of Tim's 'assurance', Kim continued to hike up the stairs to investigate her brothers, going at a slow pace, the depression fog still clouding her movements.

"We're blowing something _down_," came Jim's voice.

Kim broke into a run.

"Get out here this instant!" Kim shouted, beating her fist on her brother's door. "I'm _so_ telling Mom and Dad about this!"

"You have no proof!" Jim's voice shouted gleefully back.

"When it's you two involved all I _need_ is proof!"

At that inconvenient moment, the telephone decided to ring.

"Better get that," Tim's voice mocked. Kim could hear her other brother's laughter on the other side.

Kim growled again audibly. "Just _behave_ will you then?" she called from outside the door, the phone continuing to ring downstairs. "At least... like… ugh!" Kim turned on her heels, her curiosity of the caller winning her over. It wasn't like it was going to be Ron and even if it was, she hated him. Remember? "I need a pause button for you two," she murmured before reaching the phone.

"Hello?" she asked into the receiver.

"What's up, Kim?" It was Monique. Kim breathed out a sigh. Finally, someone she could just _relax_ around. "I saw you hike it out of the party early last night. I'm a bit concerned for you, girl, everything ok on your end?"

Kim flopped backwards into the sofa, sinking in low. "Oh, yea, thanks for asking. I guess I was just getting bored of the whole party deal."

"And I'm supposed to buy that?" Monique retorted.

"Aha, am I that translucent?"

"Transparent, actually."

"Okok," Kim caved in. "I've been honest with you before. Why not now?" But did Kim have to be fully honest with Monique? "I left because I wasn't feeling well."

"What happened?" her friend asked, Kim could hear the sincere concern in her voice. Something Kim rarely heard as of late. She wished Josh would have that much concern poured into his.

Again, Kim couldn't help but beat around the bush. It was hard enough for Kim to come to terms with it in her mind. But if she said it aloud, if she said it for someone else to hear, it would become fact. But then, it already was.

"Y'know, I wish Josh was as concerned for me as you are," Kim decided to voice her thoughts, swerving the subject instead.

"Yea, ahuh. I should tell you you're not too skilled at smoothly changing the subject."

"Monique, I-"

"No," Monique soothed, "It's okay! I understand if it's something you don't want to talk about, that's perfectly fine. I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

Kim smiled faintly. "So how did the party go?"

She heard a snort on the other end. "Everything was fine when I left. But I got a call from Bonnie and she told me the party went well into the wee hours of the morning."

"O-oh?"

"Yea, like, six am past kind of morning."

"Yikes."

Monique laughed, "Bonnie said the neighbours called the cops."

"What for!" Kim didn't know why, but she pushed herself up, one hand on her knee, and sat attentively for Monique's dish.

"Loud music in the early morning."

It was Kim's turn to laugh, relaxing against the sofa plush behind her. "Oh, is that all? You really had me worried there!"

"What for?" Monique laughed back, "It's not like we really hang with the kind of people that stay _that_ late… or early… into a party, right?" and she laughed some more.

Kim bit her tongue back. Right. She didn't associated with _those_ kinds of people.

"Worried about Josh?"

"What?"

Monique repeated, "Were you worried about Josh? Because he left well before that, trust me. He's a good guy, Kim," it sounded like Monique was reassuring her. "Josh doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who'd stay that late at a party. But then, you know him better than I do."

_He'd only stay that late if he lost track of time while talking forever with his buddies_, Kim thought bitterly. "Oh, I know he wouldn't stay that late. He probably left soon after me."

"Then what struck you so?"

_Wow, sure dug myself into that pit pretty easily_.

"Was it…" The cheer vanished from Monique's voice. It now sounded wary, as if the subject she was about to touch was as delicate as walking barefoot through glass shards. "Someone at the party you were concerned about… or just in general?"

Silence on Kim's end.

"Yup, ok, so now that we're on the subject of Ron-"

"Hey!" Kim barked out in alarum into the receiver. "I… I didn't-"

"H'mm'mm…" Monique didn't sound amused. "Look, girl. What _is_ it with you and him lately? The _whole school_ is, like, on edge here. Kim and Ron no longer friends? It's like we're waiting for the sky to come crashing down on us next. I know it's really none of my biz, but _Kim_… Nothing could be that bad, right?"

"I don't know, Monique, I just don't know anymore…"

"Then if you don't know what it is then what's stopping you from being friends with the guy again?" Monique questioned gently.

"I don't know that either," Kim replied despondently.

"Phone him."

"I can't!"

"Do it now."

"Not after last night!"

"…"

A hand flew to Kim's mouth and she blushed intensely. Thank goodness for her using a telephone.

"And could this 'Not after last night!' have anything to do with you leaving the party because you 'weren't feeling well'?" Monique prodded. But she hastened to add: "Remember, Kim, I know this is none of my biz and it's up to you to dish it all out on me, but IMO, it's really good to have someone to talk to about your problems. I'm not trying to be nosey, you know I'm here for you, girl."

"I know that, Monique," Kim replied, stalling time to actually answer her question. She wasn't sure if she was ready to answer it, she wasn't sure _how_ to answer it. She bit her tongue. "It's just… It's so hard to deal with myself, right? I'm not even sure if I can wrap my mind around it, let alone my tongue."

"I hear ya. But if you ever do…"

"You'll be the first," Kim smiled.

"How about hitting Club Banana? I don't work to-day, but I was in back on Friday before I got off early for the party. I know they're setting up some fly new stock." Excitement rose in her friend's voice, "I saw this top I _know_ you'll love!"

"Aww, I'd love to, Monique!" Kim groaned, "But I'm totally on Tweeb Duty to-day."

"The _whole_ day?"

Kim shrugged, "Until my parents come home… Who knows when that'll be."

"I'm sorry. Now you're all upset and have to stay locked up inside!"

"Yea, with Thing One and Thing Two…"

Monique made a sound as if she was going to start to say something but quickly decided not to. "Too bad you don't have someone to suffer with…" and Kim knew who she meant by that statement.

"I'm not phoning him, Monique," she replied sternly.

Monique sighed into the receiver. "I really think you're just shooting yourself in the foot about this."

"He's shooting _me_ in the foot."

"If you say so. If I see the top or anything you might like, I'll snag a pict and email it to you."

"Thanks, Monique. Have fun."

"I'd return the well-wishing but…"

"… But Tweeb Duty is the polar opposite of fun," Kim smirked. "I'll try to survive, believe it or not, but I have _barely_ survived worse."

"Alright then, bye!"

"Bye!"

Unwillingly, Kim turned off the phone and placed it back onto the charger. She wished she _could_ chill at the mall, she thought sullenly. It'd be perfect for distracting her mind from the thoughts of last night. Instead, here she was, just as Monique had said. Not only was she chained for the day for Tweeb Duty, but it also appeared she was doomed to be the unwanted prisoner of her own depressive thoughts.

And didn't Josh say he'd phone her?

Kim did not look forward to the rest of the day. Especially when her eyes shot wide open after hearing a particularly loud explosion resonate from the upper floor.

-ø-

Ron's entire weekend had been pure, unprecedented torture. If it had not been for Regionals on Monday, Ron wouldn't have gone to school at all. He wouldn't have cared what his parents would have to say to him, scold him, yell at him, repeatedly tell him he caused trouble and basically say that he was never wanted. But none of that would have mattered, _if_ he had stayed home.

For the Regionals, he went. Ron seriously had no clue as to not only how he would be able to survive through school, but how he would perform his Mad Dog routine at the Regionals. Not with how he had been during the weekend.

Ron was glad his parents worked on the weekend, glad they had long hours… for all Ron did, day and night was of no essence, was sleep. Sleep and vomit. When Ron wasn't sleeping, he was vomiting in the upstairs bathroom repeatedly for hours at a time. He cried as he did so, cried from pain and confusion, teeth chattering uncontrollably as he leaned against the large bathtub behind him, the toilet in front his only comfort as he had left Rufus in his room.

Truly, Ron had no idea he had been so capable of so much vomiting since he barely even ate. His appetite had dropped drastically even though he told himself he ought to be taking advantage of his weak stomach. But when he looked at food, he found no desire to eat. Even if it had been Bueno Nacho he doubted he would be able to eat it.

During the first few times he had retreated to the washroom for another vomit session, Ron learned to bring a comforter with him. He wrapped it around himself and basically camped out in front of the toilet, often drifting into sleep on the floor when his stomach calmed down only to wake him brutally into another round of retching, lasting for hours… hours…

Sometimes he would drag himself to his bedroom, all lights off, blinds always closed, curling up on his bed and burying his weakened body underneath all the comforters to sleep. His sleep pattern was all askew, like his vomiting, he never slept more than a couple of hours at a time due to his stomach.

His fever was always there and so high… so high… Ron had turned off the temperature in his room and even opened his window and it did no difference.

Often Ron would open his heavy eyes to look at his red slim-line telephone, wishing, willing it to ring and be Kim or to gather up nerve and phone her. But he couldn't not after the Party…

How Ron passionately desired for Kim to phone him and soothe him like he had done for her all the times in the past when they had been in their mid teens. She would phone him, at any hour, often in the middle of the night, waking him from his sleep when she was feeling horrendous cramps. Ron would talk her to sleep, taking her mind of her pain and eventually they would both fall asleep, the phone still pressed to their ears… Ron wished Kim would do that for him now. He needed her… so badly.

It couldn't be helped: Ron had been late for school, slow to rise, slow to prepare for school, often having to break to vomit in the toilet. Eventually, he had himself dressed, wearing a sweater in hues of brown and yellow ochre and a pair of khaki pants for Rufus to reside in. Because of the time he left the house, Ron normally would have fled to school, knowing Kim would have left without him if he were this late, but instead he took his time. He ambled down the street sullenly, never going too fast. It was almost like carrying a stack of China plates, one small slip into a faster walking speed and Ron would cringe, feeling sick.

It was such rotten luck that the day Ron felt worst of all was the day he had his before-class subject. Although he was late for the early-morning class and the final bell had rung long since past, Ron still made it in time for the first class of the day, marking his attendance. He ignored the disapproving look the teacher coldly sent him. Displeasing the teacher was low on Ron's Hi-Pri list at that time in his life.

In fact, Ron was in such a state of great misery, he didn't even bother to look at Kim. He found he didn't care about exchanging a look with her, even if it was the first time they saw each other since Friday's party and the disastrous events in which they parted. Instead, Ron, for once, delved into the textbook exercises, struggling to focus.

When the bell rang, Ron took his time yet again. Except… he headed to the library, not Home Economics. Even though Cooking was not only Ron's favourite and best subject, he skived it and he himself wasn't even sure why.

Ron hooked up with a computer closest to the bathroom, just in case his stomach decided to dragon attack him again, and whiled his time away on the internet… all the way until Lunch, (which he didn't eat), and then until the very end of the day—one fifty-five (Monday they were let out early). The librarian, Miss Hackett, didn't keep track of student's study blocks, that, and she didn't even notice him way in the far back.

The final bell had truly startled him. He had been so consumed on the computer screen. Rufus had even crawled out of his pocket in attempt to sway Ron to eat during Lunch period, but Ron didn't even notice his pet and Rufus gave up in defeat.

Lifting his head and feeling numb, Ron looked out the high window to his right only to realise that it had begun to rain. The soft rain pattered against the windowpane; Ron blinked several times and still felt strangely detached from the outside world.

In fact, Ron barely noticed any of the time go by. All those hours at the computer, Ron barely remembered doing anything at all, he must have been in a stupor. Looking back at the window, he struggled to focus and bring his mind to reality. He felt so distant and hours felt like a blink of an eye.

_Aww__, man, this totally sucks._ He thought sourly, straining his mind to snap out of its funk. _This junk just _had_ to happen to me on the day of the Regionals, didn't it? I have noooo clue what I'm supposed to do now. If I don't show up, Kim 'n the Squad is gonna pummel me and if I _do_ go, I'm so gonna tank it that they'll hate me anyway. … Fun._

Sluggishly, Ron pushed himself out of his chair and slung his backpack over his shoulder and began his way over to the gymnasium. When he did reach the gymnasium, he was perplexed to see that no-one was there. That didn't make sense, surely the girls would be there early waiting for Mr Barkin and the school bus? Hadn't he been slow on his trek over here?

Across from him, on the other side of the gymnasium, the outside doors flung open. Tara ran inside and halted abruptly when she spotted Ron.

"There you are!" she squealed, waving him over. "I was going to go looking for you."

"Am I _that_ late?" Ron winced, walking over to her.

"Oh, no," Tara replied, off-handed, "But many of the girls hurried over, including Bonnie, Hope and myself. I thought you'd be eager to come."

"Yea, ok, but _where_ is everyone?" Again Ron surveyed the gym. _Great,_ Ron placed a hand to his head warily, _first my temp, then my stomach, then my head and, what, now my eyesight?_

"They're outside. Mr Barkin hasn't arrived yet."

"Outside? But isn't it, like, raining?"

"Yes, that's why we're under the outside roof. We're waiting for Barkin to come with the school bus to drive us to Upperton."

"Aah, right; that make sense," Ron laughed nervously.

Tara craned her neck at Ron's bag, "Do you have everything with you?"

"Yup, packed it all this morning," Ron assured.

As they continued to stride across the gymnasium to the doors, Ron could spot some of the back of the heads of the girls through the windows.

"I am _so _excited," Tara bounced. "We've been practicing so hard for this! I'm sure we're going to win again this year!"

Ron laughed softly, "I'm glad one of us is optimistic."

"Oh?" Tara inquired, bending her head and looking up at him, "Don't you believe you'll win again this year too?"

Ron shrugged. He felt so ill and dreary that it was _extremely_ difficult for Ron to keep up this good-natured mask as to not worry Tara. Ron felt like he always had to be happy and upbeat around Tara. It was like he wasn't allowed to show his upset, misery or fear. It was she who looked up to him. He didn't want to worry her with his troubles and illness, especially not right before the Regionals. She had to focus on her routine, keep up the happy thoughts and all that. He couldn't have her mulling about just because of him.

"We'll see," he flashed a grin at Tara, "Can't count yer nachos in a naco before it's served!"

She gave him the strangest look for that.

-ø-

It continued to rain all day and still was when Kim stood with the other members of the cheer squad plus Ron underneath the outside roof of the walkway leading to the gymnasium. Naturally, it was chilly out and Kim shivered, slowly becoming frustrated in waiting for the school bus to arrive, the school bus that would drive the squad to Upperton High where the Regionals were being held. Mr Barkin had left them not too long ago to retrieve the bus.

Tired with staring at the rain, Kim cast her head around to look at the girls, everyone still out of uniform. A few of the girls held closed umbrellas, ready to open them in their flight from the brief distance between the roof-cover and the bus. A lot of the girls stood in groups, holding themselves and shivering with their friends. Bonnie and Hope were together with Liz and Crystal; Jessica and Marcella were standing, talking with some friends from their History class. Further behind, Kim stretched her head, she could see Ron and Tara.

Instead of feeling her usual hatred, Kim could only sigh to herself. Her hatred was spent ever since Friday night when she had seen them go off upstairs. They had something she and Ron never had now. She wondered if Ron was using Tara and when he would decide to drop her. Every time she thought of them going upstairs, Kim wanted to cry softly, but she wouldn't.

"Don't worry, Kim," Kim's friend standing beside her mistook her sigh. "You'll do _fine_ at the, Regionals. Middleton High has it in the bag." Monique nodded, assuring Kim. She stood with Kim, waiting to see her friend off on the bus.

"I know, I'll give it my all," Kim replied. "I really thought Josh would be here to see me off too."

"Yea, it's too bad he's busy in the art room after school."

"I wish he could come," Kim eyed Tara and Ron again, standing close and talking to one another.

"I wish _I_ could come," Monique placed her hands on her hips of her deep purple pants. "I'm risking it already being out here instead of back in Fashion Class. Our end-of-term project is due soon and my dress needs serious damage control, even after school."

"So not the drama, Monique," Kim laughed gently. "I saw your dress plans to-day at Lunch, it'll looks amazing. You'll so be seriously designing clothes for Club Banana in a few years and _I'll_ so be wearing them, make no mistake."

Monique laughed, amused. "I hope my teacher sees it the same way!"

Both girls turned their heads back to the view and the pouring rain. Kim smiled to herself, remembering the first night her and Ron's hands had been attached. It had been raining when they had still been in South America, when she and Ron had been trudging in nothing but their socks down the gravel streets. No-one but she and Ron back then… when Kim had thought he was someone he wasn't.

Kim shook her head, not wanting to go there now. She had to think determinately about the Regionals. Focus her mind on her moves and the routine, now was _not_ the time to go past dwelling. That had to leave her now for the time being; Kim couldn't risk it messing with her mind and thus messing with her groovacious moves. There was a trophy to win for Middleton! Thinking about the trophy that awaited them, Kim tightened her grip on her backpack straps, sucking in her breath.

It wasn't long before the squad and friends turned their heads towards the approaching noise of the school bus splashing through the puddles. The bus winded up the road and came to a halt in front of the sidewalk from the gymnasium, break gears wailing.

"Well, good-bye and good luck!" Monqiue embraced Kim, pulling away. "I'll be cheering for you while stuck in class! Phone me as _soon_ as you win!"

Kim laughed, walking towards the bus, "How do you know I'll win?" she called back.

"Because you can do anything!" Monique laughed, waving good-bye as Kim ran out from under the cover, dashing towards the open doors of the school bus awaiting her. The rest of the squad said their hasty good-byes to their friends, following Kim to skirt fast while being rained upon, eager for the dryness that the school bus welcomed.

All the friends, including Monique stood underneath the cover, continuing to wave at their friends peering back at them through the windows. Each friend wished the entire squad their best of wishes as the bus pulled out of the rotunda and rumbled down the streets of Middleton.

Kim on the bus, continued to wave at Monique until she could no longer see her friend. Sighing, Kim turned around in her seat, her backpack on her lap. No-one had come to sit beside her. She had taken a seat near the back as usual, looking up, she saw Bonnie with Hope, Liz and Crystal, Marcella and Jessica, and… Tara and Ron. She could see them sitting on the left side, the third from the front row. Ron had the window seat, but was more interested in talking with Tara than the scenery.

He didn't look well, Kim observed, tilting her head. He was paler than what was usual, his eyes were half open, his smile towards Tara was weak, his movements… frail. Sickly, he looked sickly, Kim concluded.

_Could this illness possibly be linked to the sickness he had when our hands were still stuck? Wasn't he just toying with me then? But then what about the fevers, how could he have faked those? Or maybe this is what he's like the day after… the day after he…_ _after they…_

Kim shut her eyes, turning away from Ron once again. _Don't even go there now, Possible._ She told herself strictly. Sighing, Kim reached into her backpack and pulled out a Cheer Squad Weekly magazine and began flipping through it, resting her feet on the seat in front of her.

Kim had been to Upperton a few times before, namely her and Ron's very first mission, and still she kept forgetting how long the drive was. They had to drive through parts of the Tri-City area to reach Upperton. Or maybe it was just long because Kim was so bored. She read the magazine from front to cover then flipped through it again with little interest. She wished she had someone to talk to, or someone to listen to.

Looking up, Kim envied the pairs of girls chatting animatedly with each other in delight, most were talking excitedly about the contest to occur in mere hours. She hadn't meant to look at them, but her eyes swept the entire bus and Kim once again noticed Ron and Tara.

Kim smiled to herself contemptuously behind an upheld magazine. Perhaps they had little in common or were bored of one another, but Ron and Tara had stopped talking to each other. Tara was leaning forwards and talking to Bonnie and Hope seated in front of her. Ron… Kim tilted her head, was asleep, his head resting against the windowpane.

Not_Tara__'s shoulder_.

Satisfied with this, Kim returned to her magazines with a newly acquired fortunate mood.

After that, it didn't feel like long before Barkin rolled the bus up into Upperton High's parking lot, right next to the buses from the other schools such as Lowerton, Brookdale and others. The girls were sitting up in their seats, chatting with bottled up excitement at finally having arrived at their destination. It was hard to see through the semi-fogged up and rain splattered windows, but they were still able to catch glimpses of Upperton High.

"Alright, ladies—and Stoppable—time to disperse," Mr Barkin turned around in his seat, facing the Squad to enforce their attentions with his penetrating glare. "Before changing into your uniforms, we're going to note our school's designated meeting area, it'll be marked with our school colours." He sneered, "And no dawdling in the change rooms for chitchat—you're in, you're out and you're doing your warm-up stretches. _Got that?_"

"Yes, Mr Barkin, sir," the girls chanted.

"Ok, move out," Mr Barkin growled, stepping out of the bus, the rest of the Squad gathered their bags to follow.

As Kim stuffed her magazines into her backpack, she couldn't help but overhear Tara's voice now that many of the girls had left the bus and there wasn't so much noise in the air.

"Ron!" Tara's voice was slightly panicky, "Wake up, Ron, we're at Upperton!"

Tara's heightened voice, instantly snagged Kim's attention and she looked up in a snap to see Tara gently shaking Ron's shoulders. Ron's head lolled from side to side, appearing limp. Kim stood straight, narrowing her eyes, a feeling rising inside of her. She spotted Rufus sitting on the back of the seat by Ron's head, trying to shake his head into waking.

"Wake up, Ron," Tara called, her voice becoming desperate and fearful. "Ron!"

Ron woke suddenly jolting upright, he almost bashed his forehead against Tara's. "Huh, what?" he blurted out. Kim couldn't see his face.

"You frightened me!" Tara wailed, her fists together tightly in front of her. "We've arrived at Upperton, a-and you wouldn't wake!"

"Guess I fell asleep…" Ron murmured, looking around himself. "When did we get here? Whoah, wait," Ron stumbled to stand, "It hasn't, like, started yet has it!"

"Oh, no," Tara shook her head, "No, no. We're just getting off the bus, but I kept calling to you and shaking you and you didn't wake." She blushed, almost as if she felt herself stupid to worry so much.

"Good," Ron looked relieved. "Er, not good that I worried you. Good that I didn't miss anything."

Rufus by Ron's head chattered in his ear to get going. Scooping up his mole-rat and picking up his bag, Ron followed Tara off of the bus without even looking behind. Kim was the only one left on the bus as she watched Tara place a hand on Ron's back and rub him tenderly.

Kim turned away from this to look at her reflection, appealing to the perplexed and morose expression that peered back at her. Blinking, her eyes focused on the rain that soiled her image in the window.

Hatred was a confusing emotion. It felt a lot like depression and isolation.

Bending down to pick up her bag, Kim joined up with the other girls outside the bus, all of them holding umbrellas. Those and didn't were sharing umbrellas with their friends, just like Ron was sharing Tara's umbrella.

"Dawdle, much?" Bonnie crossed her arms, glaring coldly at Kim underneath Hope's pink and green umbrella.

"Were you all waiting on me?" Kim asked Hope, ignoring Bonnie and pointing a finger at herself.

Hope flushed, "Kinda. You _are_ head cheerleader."

Mr Barkin marched past Kim, waving a hand for the girls to follow him. Besides Kim, he was the only other person not sheltered by an umbrella. "Next time, keep in mind that we are following something called _time_, Possible," Mr Barkin rumbled ominously. Kim flinched, giving the permanent substitute teacher an embarrassing grin that he ignored.

"Wow!" Crystal smiled in glee, twirling her umbrella as the group walked up the pathway leading to the school. She, like everyone else, was staring up at the massive building that was Upperton High School. "It's like a freaking College!"

Bonnie smirked, looking up at the building and announced to the Squad: "_I_ would have enrolled in Upperton if it weren't for-"

"-Your bad grades?" Kim helped, walking past Bonnie, flipping her wet hair and successfully speckling her nemesis with water.

Bonnie snarled as Kim walked past, sending her a devious look. "-If it weren't for Distance Restrictions," she retorted.

But Kim didn't really give a care. Right now, her mind focused on the competition ahead.

Together, the squad and Mr Barkin entered the back doorways to Upperton's Gymnaisum. Colossal, much more grand, in not only width, but height as well compared to the gymnasium back in Middleton. Already, Kim noted the countless bleachers filled to the breaking point with people from all the opposing schools to support their teams. There were probably even parents of some of the squad members. Kim's own parents weren't able to make the competition, unfortunately.

The judge's panel was at the bottom center of the bleachers, a respectable distance from the make-shift stage centered in the gymnasium. To close off the dancing area, there was a backboard with side panels that must have come from the drama classroom.

Looking around some more, Kim noticed many girls already in their uniforms and doing their stretches. She recognised the colours of Lowerton and Upperton, there were other colours too, but Kim couldn't remember their schools.

"Alright, ladies… and Stoppable," Mr Barkin clapped his large hands together, snagging their attention. "The change rooms are through that door," Mr Barkin pointed to two swinging doors on their right much like the pair they had come in from. Their escort glanced at his wristwatch. "We're cutting it a bit short, so make sure you hurry up. No time for any girly chit-chat, alright?"

"Yes, Mr Barkin," all nine intoned as one.

"Well, what are you waiting for! OFF WITH YOU ALL!" Kim and the squad turned and headed towards the double doors. "And Stoppable!" they heard Mr Barkin bark out from behind. Kim, unlike some others, didn't bother to turn around. "There's another change room in there for you, or so I'm told."

"Sure thing, Mr. B." Was it just Kim, or did Ron's voice sound… well… kind of different?

Kim wasn't exactly sure what to expect on the other side of the swinging doors, so it was to a very mild surprise when she found what appeared to be a circular lounge. Just like Upperton. Behind her the rest of the girls (and Ron) gathered, Kim was able to hear the gasps and sounds of awe. Sure, the girl's change room back in Middleton had a small lounge, but this appeared to be for anyone and everyone. Straight across from them was another door leading elsewhere. To the left was the girl's change room and to the right, the boy's.

_A waiting room._ Kim nodded to herself. _That's what this is, a waiting room. Pretty sweet. And wow, if this is just the outside, I can't imagine what the actual change rooms will look like. Something tells me I'm not going to be let down._

Only a small group of girls comprised of three in cheer uniforms Kim did not recognise occupied the lounge. They looked up with interest at the new comers.

"Hey, what school?" One girl called out.

"Middleton," Kim replied.

The girl double blinked and her two friends hunched over together and whispered radically. Kim assumed her squad had beaten these girls in previous years.

"We don't bite!" Jessica smiled at them politely.

"Except her," Kim smirked, jabbing a thumb at Bonnie who gave her an incredulous look. Kim couldn't be sure, but she thought she heard Ron sniggering behind her. It made an unwarranted smile cross her face.

At this, the girls appeared relieved and returned Kim's commemorating smile.

Moving on, Kim lead the way to the girl's change room, her eyes darting to a mirror, she could see Ron retreating into the boy's room. Because her head was still turned when she pushed open the changing room door, she almost ended up colliding with another girl on the other side.

The girls behind Kim bumped into her and Kim stood, slightly dumbfounded in front of the girl she collided with. Looking down at the girl's uniform, she was from the same school as the girls outside.

"Clumsy enough!" the girl snorted.

_Whoah__, Bonnie clone!_

The girl smoothed out the red that palletted most of the girl's skirt. They must be from West White Water High. Kim recalled their mascot, the Shark Kid, taking home the spirit stick at Camp Gottagrin last year. Yes, Kim had a score to settle with them. Meanwhile, the girl gazed at Kim with a critical eye, she seemed to evaluate her as if she was a small, dirty street animal. "Middleton?"

"Uh, yea," Kim replied, too astounded to return the attitude. "How'd you know?"

"I remember you. Head cheerleader, right?"

"Yea."

From somewhere behind Kim: "That's debatable."

Kim flashed Bonnie a fiery look before returning to the girl in front of her who said: "You and your squad better watch it." From behind her, other girls from the same school called out their agreements. "We are gonna _wipe the floor_ with you. That triple back flip? Yea, that's so last millennium."

Kim's mouth was left open and her eyebrows slanted in infuriation as the girl smirked, strutting past with the rest of her squad following her. Some of them looked like they shared their leader's 'well wishes' while a few looked apologetic.

"Tart." Bonnie snorted.

"They don't seem too friendly, do they?" Tara clasped her hands, sounding fretful.

Hope sighed, lifting up her hands, "If that's what they call psyching, then they need to study harder."

"Too right," Crystal agreed. "Does anyone remember what school they're from?"

"What does it matter?" Kim asked, striding into the change room, her irritation growing in her voice. "We can beat them all, so not the drama, girls. C'mon, Mr Barkin said not to dawdle, he's not going to be too happy with us at the rate we're going."

"And who's fault is that?" Bonnie retorted.

"I don't know, I didn't catch her name." Was it just Kim's imagination or did Bonnie actually smile at that last remark as she walked past?

Inside, the change room met Kim's expectations, which was no insult to the place. Her expectations had been _very_ high to begin with. It was much larger than the change room in Middleton, of course. Rows of sinks with mirrors and bright lights, full lockers lining the walls, plush seats, a mini lounge, showers and bathrooms off to the side… it had everything.

But enough gawking, Kim dropped her duffel bag onto the plush of one of the lounge sofas and pulled out her cheer uniform, hurrying to change.

It was right when Kim was stuffing away her clothing did her ears perk to the sound of distant music.

_No way!_ Kim in her uniform abandoned her job at stuffing her clothing into her duffel bag and flurried outside the change room. Coming to a halt, she stopped just outside the doorway, listening. Yes, that music _was_ coming from the gymnasium. Briefly, Kim looked around the lounge but it was all empty except for Ron who was chilling on one of the armchairs.

He looked as if she had just awoken him; he was looking at her with curious interest. _But not like he's sending me any messages._ Was she actually disappointed by this? Ron only looked at her as if some random girl had flurried out of the change room; it would have snagged anyone's attention.

Kim didn't know whether she was more upset at the fact Ron wasn't sending her any 'messages' or upset at herself for actually feeling like she was to expect any.

But the distant music again engrossed Kim's attention and she fluttered to the double doors and peered through the window. It was a bit of a strain to see the dance floor since the set up boards were blocking her view, but luckily the change rooms were in a near thirty-degree angle to the performing area. She had been right, a group was already performing! Had they really been that late! At least _they_ weren't performing first. Judging by the green and blue colours, the school must be Lowerton.

She realised that Ron was still behind her and the two, for the time being, were relatively alone. Silencing herself, she listened for any sounds. But there were none and he hadn't even gotten up. Glancing at the window on the door next to her, Kim was able to barely catch Ron's reflection. From what she could tell from the translucent image of him, he was asleep.

He always tried to talk to her when they were alone. It was strange, but inside, Kim felt thrilled and yet terrified to be alone with Ron nowadays. Sense told her to stay away from him, and yet a part of her wanted to tempt him over to talk to her. But now, he didn't appear to care.

_But why should he? When he's so happy with _Tara_ now? This is what I want_, she reminded herself._ I want him to leave me alone. It's a test and he passed. But what about me? What are my results?_

Kim took in a deep rattling breath and returned to peering out the window at the already performing group. Nodding slowly to herself, she couldn't help but note that Lowerton had improved greatly since last year. She wondered if they had new members. It wasn't that Kim wasn't confident in her or her squad, it was just if this was how good Lowerton was, well, it only made one wonder how good _Upperton_ could possibly be.

Kim felt someone brushing against her shoulder. Instinct of the past weeks took hold of her and she tried to whirl around, expecting to meet Ron's eyes. To her confusion, she realised she couldn't turn around. Kim hadn't been aware of it when deep in her thoughts, but the entire cheer squad (plus Ron near the back) had gathered around Kim to also glimpse their competition.

Nearby, Crystal did a sharp intake of breath as she eyed the opposing squad warily. "They really _have_ improved." So it wasn't only noticeable to Kim.

"And did you see that air there?" Liz pointed to one of the performing girls taking a graceful leap, Liz's arm right in Kim's face. "I didn't even know Lowerton was capable of such a leap!"

"_Please_," Bonnie snorted by Kim's shoulder. "I can score more air than _that_."

"Yea, when you're _falling_," Kim returned and felt a brisk kick in the back of her heel. Kim darted her eyes back to the window and sucked in her breath when she spotted Mr Barkin marching their way with the most distasteful scowl on his face.

"Everyone here?" Kim called out hastily.

"Yes!" They all chorused behind her.

"Good, then let's _go_!" Kim burst free from the swinging doors, her fellow cheerleaders tumbling after her and flurrying as one over towards Mr Barkin before he reached them with many shouts in store for their constant dawdling.

"About time, ladies," Mr Barkin rumbled deeply, his immense form bearing down on Kim and the girls (Ron in the far back). "And Stoppable. Do you not hear that music? Do you not see those cheerleaders dancing? Can _somebody_ tell me what that means?"

"That, uh," Kim stammered, trying to back away from Mr Barkin only to bump into the girls behind her. "That the competition has already started?" she asked meekly.

"DARN TOOTIN, MISSY!" (The girls plus Ron jumped) "Now YOU tell _ME_ _why_ you aren't OVER THERE," Mr Barkin jabbed a large finger to the opposite side of the gym towards a small area that said 'Middleton' on a banner of their school colours. "Doing your stretches!"

"Sorry, Mr. B…"

"Sorry won't win us the Regional Trophy. Sorry didn't save Major Tom."

"Pardon..?"

"GET MOVING!"

"YES, SIR!" They chorused and scampered over to the other side of the gym to begin their stretches, except for Ron who trailed after them and sat nearby on a folding chair as they did their stretches. The mascot division wasn't until later, so there really was no need for Ron to hurry himself.

Ron remembered his long torturous weekend and felt himself indescribably thankful that his stomach was now behaving itself for the most part. He had vomited a short while before changing into his Middleton uniform in the boys change room. At least it hadn't been for long, or much. Maybe this was a sign of things becoming well? Well, it felt to Ron that his vomit attacks were being replaced by his trance-like state that often took a hold of his mind when he wasn't careful. Like on the bus. After all, how can it lull him into that state if he's constantly retching? Made sense to him and Ron much preferred that state to being hunched over a toilet.

As Ron stood a respectable distance from the girls, he felt that state trying to sweep over him again. While it began its early stages, Ron's eyes scanned the girls, only to rest on Tara.

_H'mm__… ought'ta talk to her before she goes and does her thing._

Ron walked around the girls and over to Tara who was stretching her arms to the tips of her toes.

"How are the flutterflies fairing?" he asked, trying his best to grin.

"Horrible!" Tara admitted. "I'm all a flutter inside and I keep thinking about what Kim told me to fix up on."

"Don't even think on it," Ron insisted, "Like, it's normal, right? To worry and doubt and that kind of stuff. So if you know it's normal, then you know everything's going as usual and like usual, you'll do it perfectly."

"Thanks, Ron!" Tara blushed, now reaching behind her back to touch her toe. "How about you? I was concerned for you on the bus. You didn't look too good to me… Any better now?"

Ron smiled faintly at Tara's constant distress for him. "Yea, I… I haven't been well at all these past days… I…" he looked up into Tara's face and found a troubling concern reflecting in the clear blue pools of her eyes. "I don't know what's been wrong with me, but something has."

"For how long..?"

Ron opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it. Now he wasn't sure what he was talking about anymore. At first, Ron thought he was telling Tara about his fevers and stomach aches, but when she had asked that question… Ron wasn't sure anymore. He had been sick when his hand had been attached to Kim, Ron knew that now, and he knew it was _much_ worse presently, but even still, with Kim… just her being there had… But he was past that now. As of Friday night, he was past that. But to answer Tara's question, it had started with Kim… always with Kim…

"Too long."

"Ron, you should see a doctor!"

"Naw, I, uh, don't really like doctors. They kinda creep me out."

"But you're so ill and you're not getting any better."

"I will…"

Tara stretched her arms into the air and leaned to one side but still turned her head to look at Ron. "I wish you'd go see a doctor, it could be so easily taken care of. It really upsets me to see you so sick all the time," Tara stopped stretching and stood before Ron, "I _really_ care about you. You might not feel as if maybe people do. But one person is better than no-one, right? Know at least that _I_ care for _you_."

Yet even as Tara said that, and Ron knew she meant it truly, there was still something lacking. Something Ron wasn't receiving from her that he was used to. Everything Tara said was felt to be _her_ centering herself on _him_. And…

The music bouncing up and down in the background ceased and Ron realised that the performing group had finished their performance. Around him, the girls of Middleton High unfurled themselves from their stretches and began to bounce around, their chatter now more animated than before, built upon their own increasing excitement. They were next, they had to be.

Kim clapped her hands, rallying the girls. Tara gave Ron a look indicating she'd be right back. Ron took a few steps forwards, but remained distant from the girls, still able to overhear.

"Alright, this is it, we're up next!" It was forced excitement in Kim's voice. "This is what we've been practicing for and no ifs, ands, or buts, we are _ready_ for it! There isn't any way we can loose. This will be our last ever Regionals for Middleton and we want to make our school proud—right!"

"RIGHT!" The girls chorused, raising their fists into the air and bouncing on their feet.

"Let's clean sweep and fill our trophy case! Ready!"

"READY!"

"Then…"

Altogether, everyone cried: "_GO__ MIDDLETON!_"

Scooping up their pom-poms, the girls bounced up and down, bounding and leaping, releasing their contained energy and Ron couldn't help but smile with them. He took another step forwards, half worried that Tara would leave without another word to him, it made him feel anxious inside.

But Tara hopped back and bounced a few times in front of Ron, unable to hold back her own energy.

"Oh, Ron, wish me luck!"

"That's already been done!"

Tara giggled, "I'll see you after!" And she leaned in and planted a kiss on his freckled cheek.

Ron didn't notice Kim turning her head to smile at her girls behind her, sharing their euphoria. He didn't know she saw Tara present him sweetly with her small gift… didn't even know the plummet in her stomach and the smile fade from her face. Nor the sudden disappearance of self-confidence inside of Kim. She once again found herself in a swirling world of intense dejection.

Numb and feeling blind, Kim stumbled onto the stage with the other girls cheering and waving all around her. As they did, Kim could only look up and feel daunted as she beheld the immense audience. She spotted many faces from Middleton. Even Felix was there, Prince Wally… even Gil who waved merrily at Bonnie holding two flags—one for Middleton and the other for his old school, Brookdale. So many familiar faces… and yet…

_Josh… please be here… I need to look into a face and feel comforted…I can't mess up the cheer…_

But he wasn't there for her when she needed him most. Pom-poms danced in and out of the corners of her eyes and in her moment of rare vulnerability, she cast her head around agonized, teeth gritted. There was no-one to be there for her when she felt like he _actually_ needed someone for a change. Then on the side Kim spotted Ron. He was there. There for her if she wanted it but… no, she was mistaken. Ron wasn't looking at her. He was looking at _Tara_.

Why did one kiss on the cheek bother Kim so much? When she knew they had gone much farther than that?

_It was right there in front of me and even though I know what else happened between them, it still rocks my mind. _She felt hatred towards Ron for doing that right then when she was supposed to be energetic, focusing her energy and soul on cheerleading, on winning that trophy. It was a goal Kim knew she could achieve when lately so little felt attainable to her.

_I need this trophy. Not just for the school, but for me. To prove to myself that I'm still me and I can still do anything, just like Monique said. I won't let this phase me… I won't…_

Kim repeated this to herself over and over as she prepared herself and positioned herself like the other girls, waiting for the music to start. Although she repeated this and convinced herself to believe… she knew she would break down as soon as it was over.

And she did. After the performance, she fled from everyone to be alone… always alone…

-ø-

Ron had watched the girls perform from the sidelines, his head bobbing up and down unconsciously to the familiar beats of the music flowing all around him. Everything was in sync from Ron's memory of their routine. Everything was riding smoothly. Ron watched Tara as she danced with her partner, Jessica, she and the rest of the girls were in tune to one another. Nothing felt mechanical and everyone's spirit radiated from their infectious cheer. Except for maybe Bonnie but Ron had to admit, even she was doing fabulous—they all were, as a team.

Their dancing entranced Ron, the rhythmic dances swaying his mind into that other kind of state. A familiar state, like on the bus. Like when… He watched the girls prance about and began to feel himself distance from them, from the performance, from the rest of the world around him. A peaceful smile crossed his face as this trance settled in his mind, easing him into a relaxing comfort…

Middleton High's cheer squad completed their routine with an impressive and outstanding flourish! That was it, there was no way any other squad could beat them! By then, Ron was so deep in his trance state that he didn't even hear the music stop and still he slid deeper and deeper. Something inside of him calling him, encouraging him to slowly slip away from his surrounding world that Ron had little value of.

Almost…

Just a little closer…

_Ah…_

"Ron!"

_No, thanks, I'm fine right here…a lil' closer…_

"Ron! Ron! Ron, did you see? Did you see me!

Violently and unwillingly, Ron was pulled out his solacing stupor and thrown back into the harsh world of reality. He blinked rapidly and realised Tara was bouncing up and down in front of him again. She turned around a couple of times to smile at her fellow squad members as they leapt off stage, all pleased with their performance and expecting the best results.

Understanding where he was, Ron responded, forcing the cheer into his voice. "Whoah, Tara, that was _excellent_! I can't believe you rocked the house the way you did. Ok, now I _know_ we're bringing home the trophy!" It was difficult to inject jubilation into his voice what with how miserable he was feeling. His back felt stiff and all the bright lights in the gymnasium were now disorientating him.

Tara was still breathless and flushed from her performance but the smile on her face was contagious as she beamed back at Ron. "Oh!" she paused again to catch some breaths. "Thank-you! It was so much fun— I can't wait to see our results!"

"You see? You worried for nothin' all this time. Your moves were perfect, no sweat!"

"I did practice a lot!"

"Totally showed…"

Tara giggled, panting still. "I think I'm going to go get a drink."

Following, Ron ambled over to the juice cooler where other cheerleaders were gathered to refresh and chat amongst themselves. He felt a little awkward among so many cheerleaders but was put at some ease when none of them gave him more than a fleeting glance. After all, they all had mascots for their teams right? A guy among them was nothing different.

Ron watched as Tara reached for a Dixie cup and poured some pink juice. Even from Ron's standpoint he could sense the coolness of the drink. When Tara had finished pouring her own cup, Ron was about to grab one for himself even though he hadn't performed yet when her speech interrupted him.

"I think the mascot division will start in a short while, Ron," Tara told him with a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You should go dress into your costume."

"Oh right, my costume," Ron replied. He looked around and saw a few other boys already in costume.

"Go hurry! I'll be waiting here for you!"

Ron struggled to return the smile she gave him. "Alrighty then, see ya soon." He walked slowly off, leaving Tara to cool herself down with the refreshing juice.

He _really_ wasn't looking forward to performing his routine. Not one tiny bit. He was much worse than before. Every time he just _sat down_ he felt himself slowly slip into a beckoning state of sleep. A sleep that was so easy to slip into… a sleep that was always calling him in his ear now. It had called to him on the bus and he had heeded it. It had called him again as he stood listening and watching his school's performance and heeded it. Ron hadn't quite achieved the final state that called him, but he almost had. Still it called… and Ron wanted it.

_But not know, man. Not now. First I gotta trophy to win. Then, then I _promise_ I'll have a nice long nap. That, I promise meself. _

Once inside the empty boy's change room, Ron stood blankly in the middle. It was almost like he forgot what he had come to do… what was it again? Was it sleep? He had been thinking about that. That, and the Call was still a whisper in his ear. He looked to one of the sofas. Yes, he could go lay down there and take a little nap before his performance…

_No! Nu-uh, no way. Stop right there, Ron._ He told himself sternly, suddenly catching a hold of himself. _It's not sleepy time, it's… uh…_ While Ron struggled through the heavily increasing mind fog clogging his brain to find a rhyming word for 'sleepy', he dug through his duffel bag he had brought with him and brought out the Mad Dog costume.

Giving up on finding a rhyming word, Ron teetered forwards, catching himself before he fell. He looked down at his costume he held. It seemed like it would take so much effort just to step into the costume.

_Just a lil' break… yea…_

Ron pondered sitting down. But even still, he worried about slipping into that state. If he slept through his performance, he'd _really_ get it. Not just from the squad either, but from Mister B himself!

_Ok, ok, I'm on it._

But as soon as Ron bent forwards to lift a leg into the costume, he felt a searing pain skyrocket through his back. Sucking in his break, he immediately stood up again. His back was at it again, _yea, this is SO helpful right now…_ It was always bothering him on and off now, but unlike his illness, his back was steadily healing.

Hissing, he thought about the cream Tara had last week. He recalled how it had done wonders for his back. It would be marvellous if he could have some of it now. Ron was sure he wasn't just being pessimistic when he thought how there was no way he could do his routine in the condition he was in. The cream wouldn't help with his disorientated mind, his fever or his slim grasp on reality, but even just one minor pain gone would be a relief.

Lifting his head, Ron pondered what to do. Ok… so… yea… Ron wasn't much up to walking all the way to Tara and then all the way back again, fetch the cream, apply it, put on his Mad Dog costume, then go _all_ the way back and do his performance. So…

_I can just sneak into the girl's change room real quick, no big. _Ron told himself, already leaving the boy's change room. _Course, I'll knock first, but I think all of the girls are out there anyway. And I certainly know __Tara__ won't mind me borrowing the cream, right? Course not. Hey, it'll be a breeze._

Crossing the lounge, Ron approached the girl's change room and pressed his ear to the door.

It was silent on the other side, but he knocked three times regardless, just to make sure no-one was in there. After a time of no response, Ron pushed the door open and strolled inside. Instantly, he saw Tara's bag sitting where she had left it, he was right about to walk towards it when he instantly saw somebody else.

Kim (_Of all people…_) was standing in front of the mirror, looking at her own reflection appearing weary. Perhaps she had been crying? Her eyes darted to Ron's reflection and she jumped, whirling around, gazing at Ron with frightened and unbelieving eyes.

"What are _you_ doing in here!" Kim's voice shrilled. Thankfully, she hadn't been changing. Kim was still in her cheer uniform and had probably just been touching herself up in the mirror.

"I, uh," Ron stammered. _This is so awkward…_ "I'm just getting a bag," he decided to say, then added for extra caution: "Look, I knocked three times, ok? You didn't say anything so I thought the room was empty."

Kim paused as if deciding on whether or not to believe him. She looked around and Ron mimicked, both of them coming to the conclusion that they were both quite alone. Ron observed Kim back away from him, pressing herself against the edge of the counter.

_Ok, she better not start rambling off insults about me coming on to her or something cos I'm _so_ getting tired of it. _

Exasperated, Ron shrugged, "I'm just gonna get something from a bag, ok? This is just an accident, KP."

Kim's eyes flickered back onto Ron and she sneered. "Everything just seems to be an accident for you doesn't it?" her voice quavered.

"_What_?" Ron asked, incredulous. "Look, KP, I'm getting so sick and tired of-"

"I thought you were finally going to leave me alone!"

"I am!" he cried back tersely. "I was until you started barking at me! It's _you_ who won't leave _me_ alone! What's up with that, huh? You're always giving me looks; you're always yelling junk at me when I'm trying to make things cool between us again… The problem is _you_, KP. Not _me_."

Kim was silent, but only for a second. She appeared desperate and Ron knew she would delve into rage. From years of being Kim's closest friend, Ron knew Kim to settle with anger when she was cornered, which Ron had just done to her and instantly regretted it.

"Me!" she cried out with cruel astonishment. "_Me_! You _dare_ say the problem is _me_! _You're_ the one who messed me up!" Kim's voice chocked, they could both hear the disparity and caving in of her emotions. "I've been nothing but messed up ever sine what _you_ did to me! Look at me! You _ruined_ me, Ron, I told you that back at the party on Friday night. And you destroy me even more when you continue your stupid games and attempts like Australia." She paused for a breather, but went on before Ron could interject. "Why did you do this to me, Ron?"

Her voice was so terse and Ron felt intense sympathy surge inside of him. Ron always felt like he could share Kim's upset and felt the feeling of wanting to console her whenever she felt this way. Especially if it was some_one_ that was upsetting her. But this time, it was _him_. How could he protect Kim from himself? And it was Kim who was bringing this on herself, Ron thought.

"Right here, right now, I want an answer from you, Ronald Stoppable" Kim continued, her knees bending, as if she would sink to the floor, "I want to know why you're doing this to _me_. When did you become this…. Ugh, this _person_ that you are now? Just spill because we both know I see through your façade."

Ron didn't know how to respond to that. He was having such a difficult time trying to think or focus. His eyes kept blurring and he had to shake his head to not only clear his eyes, but his mind as well which kept fogging up on him. It was absolutely burning hot in the changing room, how could Kim stand it? He wavered slightly but quickly clamped his feet securely to the ground underneath him.

"There is no façade, Kim," he said, his voice soft and hurt. "I think it real stupid of you to think I'd ever do any of that kind of stuff to you-"

"Ok, just stop. Stop right there, stop _right now_," Kim waved her hands rapidly, frustrated with him. "I _hate_ how you persist playing this game! You won't even give me a straight answer when I ask for it. Ron, _I could read your mind_ when our hands were attached, don't you get that! I heard _your own thoughts_ of what you thought of me and your plans. Don't try to tell me they never existed because if they didn't we wouldn't be where we are to-day!"

"Kim, why don't you ever listen to me when I'm trying to patch stuff up! I _swear_ to you, like, on Rufus, that I _didn't know you were in here_! It was just a freakin' accident!" Ron's voice was desperate and exasperated to be listened to as his fever heightening, flushing his cheeks and blurring his vision. _Just listen to me for once, Kim…_ _I can't… I can't take this right now… I feel so…_

"Isn't it just great how everything seems to work out for you!" Kim sneered, pointing an upturned finger at him, " 'It was an accident', 'I didn't know'," she mimicked cruelly.

"Stop that!" Ron cried tersely, gasping from the heat he was feeling and he quavered slightly. "I'm telling you the truth, I'd never lie to you!"

" 'I disapprove of lying except for when it works and no-one notices'!"

"I didn't mean you-" Ron sobbed, almost dropping to his knees.

"Then who did you mean, huh! There we go again: everybody but me!"

"Don't you think that might mean something!"

"Like _what_! What _is_ it with you? Is it, like, some sort of sick obsession that you have with me!" Kim shouted.

At the word 'sick', Ron felt his stomach lurch and for a brief moment, he felt he lost a second or two of consciousness. The weekend… the weekend was returning to him… Everything Kim was throwing at Ron just made him feel worse, he couldn't deal with her now. He was tired of her treating him the way she did. He had finally been leaving her alone and now she wouldn't leave _him_ alone. It was getting to Ron. She was getting to him like she had when they had been trudging through the bog. Ron could take Kim's temper but now, it was just becoming ridiculous and he felt she needed a slap of reality.

While his body began to break down, he broke out- at Kim.

"Stop flattering yourself! Do you realise how much you're saying 'me' in your sentences? You know, I used to like you a lot, KP!" Ron raised his voice, standing on the tips of his sneakers while flush coloured to his cheeks vibrantly. "Like _a lot _a lot! _A lot._ But now I'm actually beginning to second guess myself! Cos this KP that you are now, I don't think I like her _at all_-"

"Maybe I don't want you to like me!" Kim shouted back, it almost sounded like defence as she stumbled backwards slightly, pulling away from the counter. But as she said this, there was a slight worry that flashed upon her face. Could it be that what Ron had said actually hurt her? "Maybe you should just go back to leaving me alone then!"

"I will!" Ron retorted and again Kim looked anguished, "It'd sure be a lot of weight off my mind! I don't have to deal with your glares 'n scares anymore! With you hating me 'n stuff! Tara's so much nicer than you ever were!"

Ron really noticed Kim recoil at the mention of Tara's name. To Kim, it felt like a slap to the face. How _dare_ he bring that… that… Kim grappled for a word—that _tramp_ into _their_ conversation! Into a conversation that was supposed to be about just the two of them! Their arguments, to Kim, was the only thing they had left to share and then he mentioned _her_…

"Fine! Go and screw Tara, I don't care! Go and 'be happy' with her! I won't have to deal with you anymore… you…. You're always getting into trouble and… tripping over… STUFF. Let her pick you up for a change!"

"At least she picks me up! All you do is, like, mangle!"

"Maybe I mangle because _never wanted_ to treat you nicely!"

Ron fell silent, the colour on his cheeks burning just as fervently as his temperature. Again, he wavered, almost falling down. He swallowed hard, glaring coldly at Kim. How could he have been so blind to have found something special in her? Kim could be so cruel when she wanted to be, not caring how violent her words were that she slapped him with.

He let out a gasp for air before speaking again. "That's cold, KP, that's _real_ cold."

Kim fell silent. Her eyes darted nervously, but she still held back… and uttered no apology.

"Then you're happy then, huh?" Ron continued. His voice rose again, Kim looked at him, still holding back. "You must have been real happy to piece together what you thought you heard from my thoughts if you never wanted to treat me nicely! Does that mean everything _you_ said to me was a lie?" (Kim's eyes flew open.) "So those were all lies then, huh? So—_you're_ the one who's been holding up a mask! _Pretending_ to like me back when I poured out everything to you when our hands were stuck? I guess so if you never _wanted_ to treat me good!"

"No, Ron, don't twist my words!"

" 'Twist your words'! Is that what you said? Did you just say that, cos, c'mon, I want you to admit it here. We both heard that, right? Did I misinterpret what you said, Kim? Gee, kinda reminds me of something. Oh, wait, that's right—It reminds me of _ME_! And how _you_ misinterpret _my_ thoughts!" Kim started to stutter something but Ron went on, "Oh, sorry, Kim. I don't want to hear anything you have t'say. I think I'll just stick to believing my guesses! Does this remind you of anything? Will it hit you now, Kim!"

He had to stop there. He took a few uncontrolled steps forward, his mind taking a sudden reeling spin. This had to stop, he had to end the conversation, on a good note or not, Ron didn't care anymore. For some reason, Kim was becoming less visible although she was still in front of him, and he was closer to her now too. At times, Ron could see nothing but black but then Kim and the change room would come back into view. Ron had to sit down, he needed something to drink. Something wasn't right, he was… he was going to…

No-one outside could hear their shouting spat, not over the loud music of one of the schools doing their performances echoing throughout Upperton's expansive and expensive gymnasium.

From what Ron _could_ make of Kim, it _actually_ looked like she was going to back down from him. One of the extreme few times Kim actually backed down from Ron. Her expression, she looked deflated and sore. Ron wished what he was seeing in her was regret. Regret and remorse. She would apologise now…

…In Ron's perfect world. But in reality, Kim was still Kim.

"Everything's always about _you_!" she shouted back. "You turn this whole thing around on me and twist what I say to make this about you! To try and make me feel pity for _you_! How many times do I have to tell you! I HAVE PROOF. I have evidence! Don't try to tell me those things never happened! You're just so twisted in your persistency, y'know that, Ron!"

Ron couldn't take it anymore. That was it. Ron was through and done. Breaking through to her was useless and he was in a world of pain and illness, hardly able to focus or concentrate. Ron's grip on reality was slipping, like it had been for days now. But now… it was gone.

He clasped his stomach tightly with his right arm, and teetered on his feet. He couldn't throw up, not here, not now. But it wasn't his stomach that was getting to him. It was his mind. Ron's vision was continuing to swim, so much now that he could barely focus his eyes on Kim in front of him. Ron had no idea what was going on with him, why he was feeling so sick and yet it was happening again, probably a crash from exerting himself in their argument… Ron was finding it increasingly difficult to stand up right and he couldn't…. he couldn't… That trance-like state that kept sneaking up on him—In the library, worse on the bus, almost grabbed a hold of him during the performance… it leapt at him in a gigantic leap, finally and victoriously seizing him.

Once it seized Ron, he lost his balance and began to fall forwards… towards Kim. She let out a shriek at his uncontrolled advance. But not in concern for Ron, no, she mistook it for something else and cringed away from him. He was going to fall… he couldn't hang on anymore! Kim screamed and pushed him as hard as she could away from herself in defence recoiling with her eyes shut and her head turned away.

Ron let out a gasp as she ruthlessly shoved him away, his back slammed into the lockers behind him with an almost deafening sound that reverberated in the air in the entire changing room. Without a sound, Ron crumpled to the ground.

Kim was gasping when she opened one eye, and then the other, unfurling herself. When she had pushed Ron, she had retreated to the other side of the changing room which was where she now stood, looking at Ron's form on the ground.

He wasn't moving. He wasn't attempting to stand.

Kim inclined her head at him, studying him for any signs of movement. Abruptly, she shouted, "Get up, Ron! Get up, I'm not falling for that, I'm not stupid!" She stood her back against the lockers on the other side. She wasn't going over to him, she knew that trick, she'd seen it in movies. As soon as she crouched beside him to see if he was alright, he would spring at her, pinning her to the ground and do with her what he willed. But he didn't move.

Still, Kim glared down at him, there was no way Ron was going to faze her. "Oh, _stop that_!" she shouted again, her voice cutting through the disturbing silence. Again, no movement. Kim increased in vexation, her brow knotting. She took a few tentative steps forwards. "I can kick your butt if you try anything, so don't think you can pull one over me!" He didn't bother to rebuke, he couldn't.

"Ron…" Kim's eyes were locked onto him, cautiously watching him for any movements, any twitch of the hand, anything. "I didn't even push you all that hard. Ron, this is so stupid, you're not going to gain my sympathy like this! Ron..?"

She stood near him now, her arms folded as she looked down at him. Her breath grew rigid and although she felt like she shouldn't be feeling it, she began to feel worried for him. "Ron, _get up this instant!_" her voice broke, "Ron, get up!"

Kim opened her mouth but this time nothing came out, desperately, she fell to her knees and placed a hand on his chest and tried to rile him, half expecting him to snatch her wrist at any moment (although it never came).

"Ron, wake up! I'll hate you even more if this is some stupid trick, so don't you play this with me! _Wake up!_" Kim couldn't help it, but tears actually began to form in the corners of her eyes. They confused her, especially after her shout match with Ron. "Ron, Ron, I don't like this, wake up!" she actually sobbed, "_Please_, wake up!"

Kim shook Ron but still nothing. She was shaking him hard, her hands on his shoulders, when the tears spilled out. She wasn't sure why she was crying for him when she hated him so much. After he came into the _girls_ change room, after he persisted with his mind games. After he slept with Tara. But there they were, spilling out and Ron still wouldn't heed them and awaken.

"Ron! Ron… _Ron!_" Kim's voice was cracking and searing with extreme panic, her tears flowing down her cheeks in great amounts. She repeatedly shook him but he remained limp. "Stop this, _please_!" Kim gripped his sweatshirt, leaning her head on the lockers in front of her as she looked down at the immobile Ron.

Suddenly, she placed her hand behind his head, scared to death that he would be bleeding, but he wasn't; she didn't understand! Time passed and Kim screamed at him to wake, breaking down as the tears flowed out. She wanted to apologise, maybe she was wrong, maybe this was all her being stupid, maybe this was a plot, she didn't know anything anymore! All Kim knew was that it pained her to have Ron injured before her no matter how cruel and manipulative he had been to her, or her to him.

Her crying was radical and never ceasing, she was sobbing, wracking, her hands shook; Kim felt like she could cry forever. Eventually, it came to Kim that waking Ron was useless. Practicality took hold—she needed help. Kim was too fraught to attempt to stand, so she crawled, dragging herself over to the sofa where her backpack lay. Gasping and tasting her own tears, Kim fumbled with the contents inside, her hands were shaking so violently now.

Reaching in, she pulled out the Kimmunicator and turned it on. Wade was there to greet her. But he was greatly shocked to see Kim in the state she was in.

"Kim..? What happened!"

"Wade…" Kim sobbed, trying to get her voice to work as it repeatedly desired to fail on her, "Please… call an ambulance… I'm at Upperton High… the girls changing room… please, as fast as you can."

Wade looked appalled, but immediately clacked at the computer. "Kim, what happened?" he asked as he commuted with nine-one-one online.

"I…" she gasped through tears, her eyes darting back to Ron's form by the lockers. "I can't talk now… please…" Kim gave up and shut the Kimmunicator off, allowing it to drop onto her lap. Releasing more of her woes, she sobbed into her hands, hunching over.

What had she done? She had pushed Ron and now… he was unconscious…

_This is all my fault! I should have listened! I should have kept my promise! I don't know… I'm so confused, I'm crying for him and yet I hate what he did to me, I don't understand, I'm so messed up…Please Ron… wake up and just… be how you used to be… _

Looking at him now, she crawled over to him and fell forwards, wrapping her arms around his limp head and body, sobbing onto him, not even knowing _why_ she was allowing herself to do this to someone she thought she hated his entire being.

Although her crying slowly diminished, her actual tears never ceased. She dug her fingers into his hair as she laid her head onto his chest that rose and lowered slowly indicating his life. This was no trick of his… she had done this to him…

_Ron…_

_Why did you have to mess everything up? Why did you have to go and become a totally different person? I hate you and yet, I know it now, I still _like_ you. Like you as my best friend and like you as how we were that night we came home from the Villain's Ball. Somebody has got to tell me how this is possible, to hate and like the same person at the same time. But it's true…_

Kim felt so numb that she was unaware at how much time was passing. No-one came into the change rooms during her waiting period for the nine-one-one call to respond to her travesty. If it weren't for the dim, echoing sounds of the music and constant chatter from the gymnasium, the only sounds that were dulling Kim's mind would be her and Ron's soft breathing… breathing in unison.

She wondered what would happen after Ron would awake. How would she feel towards him then? After yelling her head off at him and then crying over his crumpled body? She wasn't sure for she wasn't sure of_ anything_ anymore, but her fingers dug into his purple sweatshirt as Kim felt a sudden fierce urge to protect him. But that was a laugh, for the only thing he had needed protection from was herself. And already it was too late.

More time passed, Kim had stopped crying by time she became dimly aware of the rushed sounds of hurrying feet stamping outside in the gymnasium and then bursting into the change room from the lounge. It was when the people were trying to pry her away from Ron did her mind start to focus.

_No! Leave him alone, he's mine!_ Her mind seizured inside but then she realised the people taking him from her were paramedics. She forced herself to calm down and allow them to take him from her. But still, Kim didn't want them to take Ron, he didn't _need_ them, he needed _her_ but she didn't cry out in protest, she remained silent.

She watched numbly, standing back as they placed his limp body on a stretcher and then began to cart him away. Kim thought maybe one of the paramedics were talking to her, but she was deaf to all sounds.

"I'm coming with you," she cried to Ron, not the paramedics and ran to catch up with the stretcher.

As they carted the stretcher through the gymnasium, Kim again was blind to the outside world. Some people who had noticed what was happening came hurrying over to see what was wrong. Kim was barely aware of people talking to her, perhaps asking what happened to the blonde boy. She didn't care, she couldn't hear them. All she could do was swarm herself with her own thoughts while looking at Ron, his expressionless face, his mouth slightly parted.

When she followed the paramedics outside, rain pelting her, Kim did feel the cold, damp air chilling her and causing her to shiver, goosebumps already forming on her bare legs.

She climbed into the back of the ambulance with him, keeping to herself in the corner as the paramedics tended to Ron, keeping out of their way. She scrunched herself up, no longer able to look at Ron, burying her face into her hands. Perhaps a paramedic was consoling her, but she didn't hear. All she could hear was herself asking:

_What have I done to him?_


	4. Revelations & Repercussions

¤ Instalment 04 »» _Revelations & Repercussions _¤

My thoughts are with you

Holding hands with your heart to see you

Only blue talk and love,

Remember how we knew love was here to stay?

_-Earth, Wind & Fire, _'September'

* * *

Kim was done crying. She had no more tears left to shed; she had cried her lifetime worth of tears in these past four weeks since their hands had detached. All being away from Ron brought for Kim was misery, misery that went both ways. Now… now with Ron unconscious, Kim's barely pieced together world was crumbling even further. She didn't force herself to feel bad about caring for Ron anymore, not when she finally admitted to herself that she still liked him. That hatred she had felt for him all this time wasn't real hatred, it was Kim's fear. Fear that she hid behind false anger to defend herself like how she usually did. Yes, Ron still had done her wrong in so many ways, but even with all that he had done to her, it never shook that strong, devoted, feeling that she felt bound to Ron.

Her face was still buried in her hands when she looked up again to check the clock and sighed. It had only been a mere ten minutes since she and the paramedics had left the ambulance and carted Ron away from Kim.

That. _That_ had been horrible for Kim inside. This ardent feeling inside of her pulsated, longing with every bit of longing possible inside of Kim to be next to Ron. But the doctors wouldn't let her.

_Puh-leeze, don't they know I've not only been in an operating room before, but actually _operated_ in one?_ But still, they told her to wait in the waiting room. Kim had stamped her foot childishly and _insisted_ that she be with him. The doctors and nurses didn't know who she and Ron were, did they? It was clear they certainly didn't know that they were _the _Kim and _the _Ron, the two friends who were no longer friends—who had been together almost since the start of their lives! It was then that they sent a nurse to calm Kim down, feeling disgusted at being treated like a child despite her acting like one, Kim planted herself to a seat in the waiting room and began to brood. She imagined if Ron were beside her, he would have tried to soothe her; he would have been worried and would have tried to swerve her into a seat.

The nurses hadn't told her how long it would take for Kim to be able to see Ron again. Perhaps now she should plan what to say to him when she stood face to face with Ron again. She could barely remember the words of their argument before she had slammed him into unconsciousness.

_It's all my fault…Sorry. I'll say sorry._

But she had a strong notion Ron, being Ron, would counter her and force her to answer out of his own stupidity. 'Sorry for what?' he would ask, for there was much to be sorry for.

Truthfully, Kim didn't know what to be sorry for. _Well, am I sorry I pushed him?_ She paused. _Yes. Yes, I am. No, no I'm not. Wait, I have to be specific. _Kim concluded that she wasn't sorry she had pushed Ron away from herself. He had been trying to advance on her, what else could she have done to protect herself? _I am sorry he was injured though, that I'm sorry for._

Then what? _Are we to patch things up? Or go back to being…_ Independent wasn't the right word. Apart. Going back to being apart? It made her feel sick inside, to think of going back to being separated from Ron. Maybe something would come from their conversation and it'd make being apart from Ron all OK. … Was that possible? Even if she still liked him?

Kim sighed again. As the minutes ticked by on the clock, Kim's guilt increased. She couldn't stand it anymore and she _needed_ to speak to Ron _now_. How long could it possibly take to revive him or whatever?

Disturbing Kim out of her thoughts, the beep-beep beepbeeping of the Kimmunicator sounded out from Kim's bag. Startled, Kim reached into her backpack on the floor and pulled out the Kimmunicator, turning it on.

"Wade?" she asked.

"Kim," Wade's voice was wrought, "Are you ok? What happened back there? I followed Ron's tracer and it shows he's at Upperton Hospital."

Kim nodded numbly, placing a hand to her cheek. "That's right."

"So what happened? Why'd I have to call an ambulance? They haven't put any info on their computers for me to hack yet."

That response made Kim smile, but then she contemplated on whether or not she should tell Wade the full story. She looked down at Wade on the computer screen looking back at her intently, clearly worried, (not just politely interested).

"Ron fell unconscious," she said shortly.

Wade's eyes widened and he nodded. She guessed he wanted more information, such as 'how', but Kim wasn't ready to speak about it yet. The guilt inside was beating her, she didn't need Wade to guilt-trip her as well, so she remained firm in saying nothing else.

After a moment of silence, Wade caught on that Kim would say no more. And probably by using his super-genius mind, Wade could also deduce that the fact that Kim so determinately said no-more linked her to the 'how'.

"I'm sure he's going to be ok," Wade finally said, folding his hands in front of him.

"But he's _unconscious_!"

"So he probably has a concussion," Wade stroked his chin. He opened his mouth to say something, but then promptly shut it. Wade spotted Kim's face fall then quickly added, "But I'm not sure. I don't know how he fell unconscious," he shrugged.

"Ok…"

"But hey, don't loose hope," Wade consoled, leaning forwards in his seat. "If something's happened to Ron, we can help him. We've met so many scientists and there's _me_," (Wade rubbed his knuckles on his shirt and blew on them, "To help, just in case. Right?"

"Exactly," Kim smiled with her eyes.

"In fact, I'm going to do a little digging right now. You think you're going to be ok?"

"I'll be fine, Wade. Thanks."

Wade blipped out, giving her an encouraging smile as he did. Kim sighed, alone again with her thoughts for now.

When an hour passed, it hit Kim that she ought to phone her parents about her whereabouts. It would give her something to do, she concluded, to distract her mind, to distract her _guilt_. Fishing into her backpack beside her, Kim pulled out her wallet and scooped out a couple of quarters; even in her state of numb shock when the paramedics had come for Ron back in Upperton High's change room, Kim had scooped up her pack.

With her pack on her back, Kim wandered a little ways down the halls peering about for a pay phone. She stopped outside the door that they had taken Ron through. Kim felt a fierce, bold feeling to just barge in, but knew better. They'd just take her away, maybe even further away from Ron. And Kim wouldn't be able to stand that.

Spotting an available pay phone, Kim checked her watch to make sure her parents would be home. Slipping in the quarter, she took in a deep breathl dialled her phone number, waiting…

"Hello? Possible residence."

"Mom?"

"Kim? Honey, what's wrong?"

"I just wanted to let you know where I was…" Now that Kim was actually using her voice, it began to shake and reveal her distressed state.

Her Mother took notice, "Is something wrong? You sound upset."

"I-I'm fine…" An obvious lie. "I'm at Upperton's hospital-"

"You're _where_! Goodness, are you hurt! Did something-"

"I said I'm fine, Mom," Kim reassured, turning around in her spot nervously now holding the receiver with two stable hands. "I came because someone else is… Oh, Mom, it's _Ron_!"

"Ron?"

"He… MomIpushedhimandhefellunconciousandhe'shurtandhehasn'twakenandandand… _And it's all my fault_!"

"Kim, Kim! Ok, ok… just… just calm down, sweetie…" On the other end of the phone she could hear her Father's voice in the background. There was a short converse between the two before Kim's Mother replied, "Alright, we're coming, just hang on."

"Mom…"

"It's ok, we'll be right there. See you shortly."

"Bye…" Her Mother hung up, probably in a rush with her Father to hurry over. Kim didn't know what they were going to do with the Tweebs but Kim hoped they didn't plan to bring them along. It may be selfish, but Kim didn't feel up to dealing with the troublesome duo.

She was a bit upset that her Mother had hung up so quickly, even if it was out of concern. Now Kim was left to her thoughts and guilt, she desired an immediate distraction. Hopefully it wouldn't take her parents long to drive over.

Turning around to head back to the waiting room, Kim recoiled when she saw _Mr Barkin_ of all people at the receptionist's desk, still in the Middleton High purple and yellow uniform sweats. Startled, Kim trotted up to the teacher.

"Mister Barkin—what… what are you doing here?"

Not at all looking surprised, Mr Barkin turned around and looked down at Kim. "Seeing what's going on. I am responsible for Stoppable's well-being."

"Y-you are..?"

He regarded her through stern eyes. "Yes, I _am_ the chaperone," Mr Barkin's growled response sounded impatient and he returned to what looked like filling out a form.

Kim mulled over what Mr Barkin had said. "You, uh, you won't get in trouble, will you?"

Mr Barkin gave her an impatient eye. "Depends. I need to find out how he was injured." Back to filling out the forms.

But Kim wasn't done yet. Panic rose in her voice, "What do you mean? He's unconscious, that's all they need to know, right?"

Mr Barkin sighed, turning away from the forms once again, "No. Of course they need to know how it happened. Standard procedure. Now, Possible, I'm very busy at the moment, I have _your_ class paper to mark yet and the rest of the classes I teach."

"Right, sure…" Kim stepped back. Brushing her hair back, she returned to the waiting room, taking the same seat as before, but now with a whole new load of thoughts to dampen her mind with.

They would need to know how Ron became unconscious. They'd have to know that he hit his head… they'd have to know that he was pushed… That _she_ had pushed him!

Kim's jaw dropped in the sudden horrific realisation. _Couldn't I go to, like, _jail_ for pushing him! Couldn't I be charged with something! Because I pushed him, willingly… but I didn't mean for him to, like… go unconscious! But still… I can get charged right? No… nonono…_Kim buried her face once again in her hands and clung at her hair. _Ergh, this is _so_ turning from worse to down right impalement! So, Ron, you'll get sweet revenge for me pushing you after all,_ she thought wryly. _Lucky you, I bet you'd just be loving this…_

The prospect of going to jail and having a criminal record did _not_ appeal to Kim. Call her choosey, but it wasn't something she'd like to put on her college application. She was sure Shego would be laughing vilely at all of this. _I should just toss on a jumpsuit and join her now!_ Kim thought. _The villains would _so_ be loving this… They get to take over the world—not because they were able to burn me out—but because I had burned _myself_ out. _

_Jail… the police might come for me now. No, they have to find out I pushed him first and…_ How would they figure that out? The only witnesses were her and Ron and… would Ron tell? Would Ron, once he awakened, reveal that Kim Possible had shoved him into a locker? If he did then Kim would need to defend herself. She'd have to tell them that he'd been trying to advance on her and then… it'd all come out and be a battle against her and Ron. Torn friendship was one thing, but an entire _court battle!_

_Oh, this is way, _way_ too off the chain here,_ Kim moaned pitifully. _Ok, I promise myself I'm just going to deal with one thing at a time here… and right now… _

Guilt. It was growing massively inside of Kim and there was no place to store it. _I wish I could just blank out. Like Ron. He mastered the art of a blank mind years ago,_ this thought almost made her giggle. How amusing Ron had been in the past, when he hadn't been trying to use her or take advantage of her. Those times were the ones Kim missed.

_My mind shouldn't be consumed by this stupid guilt and mad pity sessions. It should be full of the happier times._ But they all seemed so far away in Kim's mind. As if they hadn't happened a month ago, but rather _years_. If Kim could have her way, all this insanity would be banished and she and Ron could go back to being best friends, even… even if she had to forfeit her strong liking for Ron. She didn't want to give it up, but she would if it meant she could have one small part of the boy. It was their friendship that Kim missed most of all. Sharing joy with one another…

Kim forced herself to reminisce the old times being with Ron, starting from the date of their friendship in Preschool and working up the time line. She picked the most memorable memories of their being together nearly everyday for fifteen years and even discovered some she thought she had forgotten. Some might see that her fond dwelling of the past would be pathetic, Kim might have said so herself, if it wasn't the only thing left she had to cling on to.

_See?_ She thought. _I still _do_ have some small part of Ron left… inside me…_

Lifting her head for another casual look at the clock, Kim was amazed when suddenly her Tweeb-less parents walked around the corner, looking for someone… looking for her!

"Mom!" Kim ran to embrace her Mother and fought adamantly to hold back the tears. She wouldn't allow herself to cry again, it was, by now, far too redundant. She was dimly aware of her parents questioning and soothing her. All that ran though her mind was the returning fervent guilt. "Mom… oh, Mom, Dad—it's all my fault!"

She heard her parents gasp and Kim pulled away from her Mother to face them, her face tormented through her hounding grief. "It's all my fault! I…" Kim pulled away even more and fell back, taking a seat, holding herself and looking up at her parents. In barely a whisper, Kim breathed: "_I pushed him_."

Kim saw shock in both her parents' faces even though she had told her Mother on the phone (but maybe Mrs Dr Possible didn't speak Rushed Frantic Speech). Her Mother and Father exchanged looks of confusion with one another. Kim noticed how her Mother tried to hide her initial shock and replace it with compassion. "Surely…"

"Surely it was an accident," her Father said, taking a seat beside his daughter.

Kim couldn't look at them any longer. By avoiding their eyes, they already knew the answer before she said, "No."

She didn't need to look up at her parents to know how dumbfounded they would be with Kim's inexplicable confession. She couldn't face her parents and yet she had just told them, they deserved an explanation, but how could Kim visit that time again? And what exactly would she tell them as to _why_ she had pushed Ron? It didn't matter, everyone would know eventually. Kim would have to tell the whole story when she was on trial… she just might as well plead guilty, she knew she was, her guilt would never let her forget.

Lifting her face, but still not meeting her parent's eyes, Kim stated: "I pushed Ron on purpose. He…" Kim felt her throat tightening. "He… I slammed him into some lockers and…" Her eyes darted, the image replaying itself before her mind's eye. "He fell. Oh… Mom, Dad! He wouldn't wake!" Kim gripped her seat, staring down hard at the floor as if it had been the floor who had done her so much wrong. "He wouldn't wake and I had to call an ambulance! I…" It was then that she looked up, into her Mother's face to her left, both of her parents sitting on either side of her now, "I'm going to go to jail, aren't I?" She swivelled her head at her Father again, demanding an answer.

"I… don't know, Kimmie," her Father admitted.

"But, honey," Kim's Mother pressed, placing a gentle hand on Kim's shoulder, "_Why_? Why did you push Ron?"

Darn, she had asked.

"I was mad at him…"

"Kimmie, you know violence is never the answer!" her Father spoke, neither too stern nor too gentle.

"I know… I _know!_" Kim looked down at the floor again, terse, neglecting to argue the fact that she used violence on an almost day-to-day basis when fighting the villains. "I… didn't mean for him to get hurt! I was… just so mad at him…"

She knew her parents would be disappointed in her, but would they be angry? Kim did very little to spark fury in her parents, they weren't generally people who angered easily anyway. But, here, she had just confessed to her parents that she pushed Ron rather brutally and there they were, looking at her with sympathetic eyes.

_No, you've got it all wrong. _I_ don't need the sympathy, _Ron_ does and… and I never showed it to him… even if he didn't deserve it…_

"I don't know what I'm going to do…" she admitted sullenly.

"Well," Mr Possible spoke, "We'll have to take it one step at a time."

Kim lifted her head to her Father in question.

"There's nothing we can do now but wait for the diagnosis," he continued. "There's no point in fretting yourself sick. I'm sure Ronald wouldn't want that. Heck, _we_ don't want that."

"Ron may be fine," Mrs Possible added, nodding her head. "You jump to conclusions too easily, Kimmie."

Kim had no response for that last remark.

"Guess you're right… about the worrying myself sick part," she added that last bit hastily. "But I can't do that. Are you telling me I _shouldn't_ worry for him!"

"No, no," her Mother soothed, "Not at all, Kimmie. We're advising you that at this moment, you can't control anything. Right now, you're in the back seat- you have to wait for your destination to arrive." Her Father nodded knowingly.

"No control..?" This concept struck more fear in Kim than the thought of being slammed into jail.

"Not that I can see."

"What do you think you have control over right now?" her Father countered.

Kim opened her mouth to respond but found she actually had none. Nothing. She could control nothing. And when would she be in control again? In fact, _when_ was the last time she had been in control? Kim's initial response was right when she had shoved Ron into the locker. But perhaps she had lost control a long time before that. This control that she felt she had all this time… a delusion? Brought on by Ron? Or herself? And when? And-

"Whatever happens, Kimmie, we'll be with you," Mrs Possible said.

"I-"

"Here," Mr Possible reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. "Why don't you find the cafeteria and purchase yourself some dinner. We'll be waiting here."

"Dinner? Is it that late? But what about-"

"If anything happens," her Mother inclined her head, "We'll come and fetch you instantly."

"I… thanks Mom. Thanks, Dad…" Kim reached out her hand and Mr Dr Possible gave her some money for food and she hugged him in return. "I am kinda hungry after doing that routine," _and after all that hideous crying._ "I haven't eaten since lunch. You know, I don't even know who won the Regionals."

"I'm sure one of your friends is phoning you right now."

Kim laughed uneasily, "Yea, and I bet I know who!"

As Kim turned away and walked down the pristine hallways, passing nurses and visitors, money clenched in her fist, Kim found that she didn't feel too concerned with the results of the Regionals. Kim thought she had needed that small victory to boost her esteem, to boost her belief in herself that she was still the true Kim who could do anything. But she knew now that no matter the results, it wouldn't change anything about her. The only thing that could change her… bring her back to her old self, was Ron. And at the moment, inconveniently, he was gone.

-ø-

Kim had taken her time on her way to the cafeteria (minus the fact that it had taken her some time to locate it). Even though it had been awhile since she last ate, once she placed her food tray in front of her and picked up her fork to dig into her salad, Kim instantly discovered she wasn't hungry anymore. At first she played around with her salad, sighing to herself, but eventually her stomach overpowered her glumness and she soon progressed through her salad, potatoes and chicken—even the cup of ice cream. All the while, Kim eyed the clock.

She wasn't sure anymore what time she had actually arrived at the hospital, so Kim and no inclination of how much time had passed since she had passed Ron on into the hands of the doctors and nurses.

Why was it taking them so long anyway? It was just a bang to a head… and yea, ok, so he passed out, there was that. But there was no blood. So, like, what? Just put a bandage on and wait for him to awaken? Maybe they _were_ done with Ron and they were just waiting for him to hello and wake up. Without knowing it, Kim smiled to herself as she recalled what a thick sleeper Ron could be. And, Kim laughed softly, how he could fall asleep anywhere. So, yes, she thought, it might take him awhile.

_But I'll be patient… this time. _

She still wasn't sure what exactly she would say to Ron when he awoke. _I'll guess I'll just have to wait and roll with it. Kinda depends on how _he_ reacts to _me

Looking back down at her tray, Kim decided she had had enough playing with her fork, rolling it around and around the empty salad bowl, time to head back.

As Kim carried her tray to the garbage, small anticipation rose inside herself, but she scolded herself. Her Mother had told her if anything happened, if the doctor approached them, she would come and fetch Kim immediately. And since her Mother wasn't here, then there was obviously no news. So Kim again took her time on her walk back to the emergency room recovery waiting room.

When she arrived, she spotted her parents talking to each other in low converse while flipping through magazines that had been on the side tables.

"Back," Kim stated and flopped into her seat between her parents, smoothing on her cheerleading skirt on her lap. "No news, huh?"

"Nothing," Mr Possible confirmed.

"How long has it been, Kimmie?" her Mother asked, placing a magazine down on her lap. "Did you phone us right away?"

"Uh, no, not really," Kim confessed, "I was kinda, um-"

"Probably in a state of shock," her Father said.

"Probably," Kim flushed. "But no, yea, I was too shocked to look at the time. It's felt like hours. How long does it usually take for them to finish?" Kim turned this question to her medical doctor Mother.

"Depends on the condition," she shrugged.

"Great…" Kim muttered under her breath. She stood up again and pushed through the magazines on the side table. They were old, tattered, pages torn out, but still Kim picked up a few and took her seat again. At this point, Kim critically required something to distract her increasingly wandering mind.

Yet even though Kim flipped through the magazines, nothing could capture her mind no matter how hard she tried. Kim realised she had been reading the same sentence twenty times and gave up. Heaving a sigh, she hung her head, allowing herself to once again be overcome by her dismal emotions.

A few minutes later with her head still down, Kim heard the sound of approaching footsteps. She wasn't expecting it to be Ron, but felt some small hope stir inside of her. Looking up, it was a doctor; he looked down at his clipboard briefly then back at Kim and her parents.

"Are you Ronald Stoppable's family?" he inquired.

"No, close friends," Mrs Possible replied.

"Good as," Mr Possible added in a soft undertone.

Kim leaned further out of her seat, suddenly feeling extremely fidgety. "I'm Kim Possible—I came in with him- from the school, from Upperton's school where they found him. I'm his _best_ and _closest_ friend. I-"

"Right, right," the doctor nodded, looking over his clipboard again. "You're the girl who almost broke one of the paramedic's arms and gave Johnson a nosebleed when they wouldn't let you in the ER, I remember."

Eyes wide, Kim felt the cold stare of both her parents on her and she shrunk back, flashing her teeth in an evasive smile. Pushing back some hair, Kim gave a nervous laugh, "I, uh... Yea… That was, er, me." Trying to swerve the subject before he parents could slap the word GROUNDED on her, she said, looking more seriously at the doctor: "But Ron… Can I… can I see him now then?"

The doctor appeared to consider this. "Yes, follow me, I have to go back and drop some papers in his folder anyway."

Kim stood up nervously, looking at both of her parents. They stood up too and walked with Kim who followed the doctor across the hall and through the double doors where some of the emergency room recovery patients were resting, recouping, dying, whichever. Turning left, it was a brief walk over to the right where Ron's station was.

"Ro- … oh…" Kim had initially sprung forwards but when she actually had a closer look at him, she fell back, linking the fingers of her cupped hand. "Oh…" she said again, this time more quietly. "He's asleep then… Still." She turned to look up at the doctor staring sadly at the sleeping patient. "When will he wake up?" She felt her Mother's hand rest on her shoulder.

"We don't know."

Kim's eyes rolled, barely a flicker. "Well, I mean a few hours? Less than an hour? How long will it take for the drugs to wear off?"

The doctor held back. "Weren't his parents called?" he asked, looking over Kim and at her parents.

"We called them too," Mr Possible replied, "But it was just a voice message, I did leave a message though."

"Ah," the doctor said, nodding his head.

"Um, like, _hello_?" Kim snorted, standing on the tips of her toes and trying to make eye contact with the doctor. "You're kind of ignoring my question here-"

"Kimmie," her Father warned his daughter of her rude tone.

"Well, I want to know," Kim crossed her arms. Suddenly, she felt worry growing like a parasite inside of her. It was because the doctor initially ignored her question, it was beginning to throw Kim off. And why not? Everything else seemed to be going wrong. "He _is_ asleep right?" Kim looked to the graph monitoring Ron's life: it was moving up and down at a steady pace. At least the doctor couldn't tell Kim he was _dead_.

"Ms Possible," the doctor said steadily, "We don't know when he will wake. He's in a coma."

In that instant, Kim's world froze. Kim's arms were mid-way from unfolding when her eyes glazed over, her mind's wheels churned and churned to try and comprehend and make some kind of sense of what the doctor had just told her.

A coma…

_No… it… it can't be…_Slowly… ever so slowly, Kim turned her head to face Ron. Through her glazed eyes, all she could see was Ron. It was as if that was only what they would allow her to see. Him. Without even thinking, Kim took a step forwards.

_But don't… don't people in comas never wake up! Don't they just… sleep forever? No… nonoNO. No freaking way, no way. I didn't even push you that hard! Oh…this… But still—this is all my fault…_

Finally coming to her senses, she realised both her parents now had a hand on each of her shoulders as if to hold her firmly, should she cave to the floor and finally break down.

"A…" Kim tried to work her mouth, but she couldn't. The pain inside of her… It felt like someone just tied a tonne weight to her heart and let it drop, tearing her heart from her chest so it sank right to the bottom in a sickening plummet. She felt like reeling; this couldn't be. A coma? But he hadn't even been bleeding and… she hadn't pushed him that hard! And still… she had caused this…

"A coma," Kim finally managed to choke out, her arms now hugging herself tightly. "H-he's in a coma…" She looked up at the doctor and met him squarely in the eyes, her eyes fierce, demanding and so very full of tiresome sadness. "Like a _coma_-coma? As in… as in he could _die_!"

The doctor cleared his throat. Kim would have thought he'd be used to dishing out depressing news. Wouldn't it be something he'd do on a daily basis? "If he doesn't wake up or if his parents-"

But Kim had stopped listening. She didn't need to hear what else the doctor had to say, the 'if' had said everything. Kim turned back to gaze at Ron, his eyes closed… And they would be closed forever… _All because of…_

"Me!" Kim let out, taking a step away from Ron's hospital bed. Rattled at Kim's sudden outburst, Kim's parents and the doctor both turned to stare at her… and she stared right back at them, disparity clouding her eyes. "It's all my fault he's like this!"

"Kimmie…"

"No, Dad! It's the truth! It's all my fault he's like this and I'm gonna go to _jail_ and… I save people from deadly sitches on a daily basis and I caused the death of my best friend!" her voice cracked.

"He's not dead," her Mother consoled, stroking her shoulder.

But Kim pulled herself out of her parent's grasp. "He will be! And…" Kim looked again at Ron in anguish. "I…" she said softly, as if she were speaking to only Ron… "I caused this… I'm -" she wanted to say she was sorry. But her mouth wouldn't let her.

_But I am… I am…_She thought she was. She hated him, but she knew her heart still longed for him as it always had. Never once had that longing vanished or even flickered within her. Kim was aware that she still yet had many thoughts to sort through on Ron. On her feelings, on what he had done to her, what he _tried_ to do… but all that, all the logic, was taking a back seat to Kim's inner longing. The longing now ached and felt twenty times worse. She could no longer deal with the logic at this point, Kim could only concern herself with the longing…

"You might as well just lock me up now!" Kim cried tersely, throwing up her arms and startling a few nearby nurses and patients (one hacked up some blood). It was plain to see that Kim was struggling so fiercely to hold back the tears. Her voice was already choking, ready to start sobbing. "Because I killed him! I killed Ron Stoppable! Well!" she turned to the doctor and jabbed a finger in his face, "What are you waiting for!" she practically cried, a tear already escaping down her cheek. "_I did it_! I admit it—I pushed him and now he's in a coma and oh…" Kim shivered and shut her eyes, boldly keeping back the rest of the tears.

"Kimmie, calm down" her Mother soothed while trying to hug her. Kim allowed this for only a moment, but had to pull away. As much as she loved her parents, and was thankful for both of them trying to comfort her… they weren't Ron; the old Ron whom Kim longed for, the Ron that might not ever have truly existed. She wished it was in his arms she were in. But if she were, they wouldn't be in this mess.

Kim held herself and turned away bitterly, staring at the floor. "So," she said embittered, sniffling. "How long do you think they'd lock me up for?"

"Miss Possible," the doctor said clearly, "What happened isn't your fault. You mustn't blame yourself."

Kim turned around in astonishment. "_What_?" But not out of belief. "I _pushed_ Ron! And then… and then he fell unconscious! How can that not be my fault? Look, I'm not a child, ok? I know when something's my fault-"

"Miss Possible, I don't think you understand, allow me to explain."

"Explain what?" Kim muttered, still only able to look at the floor and again Kim felt her parents hands come to rest on her shoulders for additional comfort.

The doctor shook his head, "Ron didn't fall into a coma because of a blow to his head."

This was worthy of Kim's attention. She didn't want to sound hopeful, but she couldn't help but lift her head. "What do you mean..?"

"Miss Possible, Ron had malaria."

Kim stood, slack-jawed for the… Kim didn't even know how many times it had been that day that her jaw practically dislocated itself.

"_Malaria_?" Kim whispered back, her voice drowning in her horror. She didn't understand; she felt her parents hold on her tighten and knew they were just as shocked as she was.

"The blow to the head was nothing, far from a concussion. He's in this coma because the malaria went untreated for so long, I'm surprised no-one noticed his symptoms of vomiting, dizziness, intense fever, headaches, sweating… or why he himself didn't come and see a doctor. As I said, this isn't your fault Miss Possible, you mustn't blame yourself at all."

"_Malaria!_" Kim repeated still frozen and dumbfounded. "Ron had malaria!"

The doctor nodded. Kim was dimly aware of her surroundings. Were her parents speaking to the doctor? She couldn't tell… everything… she… shocked, Kim was completely shocked. Kim folded her hand into a fist and brought her knuckles to her mouth. Her eyes were still distant and unable to focus. She barely wrapped her mind around the concept that Ron was in a coma but now… now _this_ extreme weirdness!

"But that can't be…" she murmured, her voice barely a whisper. She looked up at the doctor, her eyes focusing slightly as she said with more conviction: "But that can't be! How could he have gotten malaria!" Tears flowed down Kim's cheek and she roughly pushed them away. _No_, she told them fiercely. "That's so _stupid_; how could he have gotten malaria- don't lie to me! It was _me_._ I_ pushed him into the locker, _I_ did this to him! I should be locked away! I should be in prison!"

"Malaria can be contracted, like through," the doctor shrugged, "A mosquito bite-"

"We don't have malaria _here_!" Kim insisted. She stamped her foot in childish determination, as if she could win this argument it would chase the affliction away and Ron would magically awaken being the person who she wanted him to be. "You're lying to me! It's all my-"

"Or through the blood-"

Kim was about to shout out her disagreements again when that statement lingered in Kim's mind. She stood still, allowing the sentence to work its way through her mind and then finally hitting her inner alarum.

She let out a horrified gasp that caught everyone's attention. "D-Did you just say through _the blood_!" Kim asked, taking a step towards the doctor.

"W-why, yes," the doctor responded looking taken off guard.

"But not here…"

"No, you're right, we don't have malaria here. He must have been in another country, something like-"

"South America…"

"Yes."

"South America…" Kim murmured again, folding her arms close to hug herself and she dealt into remembrance. "Y-you said through the blood… blood…" It was still ringing her inner alarum, but still she couldn't grasp the exact memory of recognition. _Through the blood… the blood… South America…_

Her head shot upwards again startling her parents and the doctor. "Ohmigosh!" Kim gasped, spreading her hands out in front of her, heaving forwards as the flashback hit her.

_"Augh!" Kim groaned as she sunk to the ground on her knees. Although she was not looking up, she could hear the laughter of the three gang members as they twisted her arm back… back… twisting her arm into an unbearable pain. _

_Kim didn't know what to do to help her sitch and then… That yell! Ron cried out and Kim's arm was released from the gang member's grip. Ron had launched himself at the gang member, at the arm… After disposing of the other two members with swift kicks, Ron began to gnaw at the arm of the gang member that still gripped his Kim, fighting to keep her virtue. She hadn't known it then, but it was probably why he fought so fiercely. _

_Looking up, Kim saw, revolted, the look of pain on the gang member's face and… and the _blood_ Ron spilt as he tore with his teeth at the man's flesh…the man who had been sweating worse than the others… how his eyes seemed to swim before Kim as he taunted her…He had malaria. And then he passed it on to Ron…_

The blood in Ron's mouth… in his mouth… the sickness that came days after… how it worsened… fever-like symptoms… Malaria.

Back then, it hadn't truly hit her what the gang members were going to do with her once they had her weak… defenceless… nor what they would do to Ron. (Or that one guy would do to Ron.) Now, of course, now she knew and looked upon this repulsive moment in her life with grim fear. She would have been… so close… it would have happened to her… and Ron would have… But it didn't happen because… From Ron's brave attack to protect Kim's virtue, Ron contracted malaria.

Kim felt herself cave in and tried to hide herself, bending her head low, breaking into soft, light sobs.

"It_ is_ my fault!" she let out. "I'm the reason he has malaria, I can't believe this…"

"How can that be?" Her Mother obviously had no idea what Kim was talking about.

"She's right, Kimmie," her Father added. "_You_ didn't pass on the illness to him. Even if you did, it wouldn't be your fault. It was just an accident."

_Just an accident. Why does everyone, Ron himself, insist everything concerning him is _'just an accident'

But Kim shook her head. "It really was me…" a few tears ran down her cheek. "Mom, Dad… I took him to South America—we were on a mission-"

"Even still," her Father tried to interject but Kim kept on talking.

"He… I didn't tell you guys this. But we ran into… some guys. It wasn't apart of the normal freak fighting thing, y'know? It was, like, totally random, we never have this kind of trouble. But… Ron actually _fought_ to… to, well—to protect me! He fought to protect me from this guy and… and he _bit_ him. T-there was blood. Lots of it, and Ron caught malaria from that guy. He did it to help me…"

This time Kim allowed her Mother to embrace her as she clung back and felt her Father gently stroke her back. Kim sobbed some more yet not as hard as before when she had cried over Ron's crumbled body. She hated crying, she hated it so much, and yet it felt it was like it was all she ever did nowadays.

"That's not your fault," Mr Possible said sternly.

"What, so it's _Ron's_!" Kim asked, bewildered, still in the gentle world of her Mother's hold.

"I wasn't going to say that-"

"Then _who_? _Who's_ fault is it!" Kim wanted to know, and turned to look at her Father, allowing her Mother to pat her on the back in consolation.

"Kimmie-cub," Mr Possible said, looking directly into Kim's eyes, "There doesn't always need to be a blame in every situation."

The look Kim gave her Father was complete bafflement.

"He's right," her Mother added, turning around to face Kim. "Sometimes, things aren't always someone's fault. Sometimes things just happen and no-one has any control. It may _feel_ like your fault, you could even blame the goon who attacked the both of you. But this time-"

"The blame lies on no-one," Mr Possible finished.

Kim struggled with this concept. Always… always there was someone to blame. It was usually Ron to blame but this time… how could it be? Really? Could this really not be any of Kim's fault? Not even the guy who attacked them? Was there really such a thing as 'no-one to blame'? She frowned, looking at her white cheerleading sneakers.

Maybe they were just saying this to comfort her. It wasn't that she _wanted_ this to be her fault… or maybe she did. Maybe some part of her did want this to be her fault. Then Ron could have some kind of justice with it being her fault. She didn't know what to think.

"Later," the doctor said after much silence, (Kim had forgotten he was still there), "Ronald will be moved to another room. You can ask the receptionist next time you come to visit for his new room number."

Kim nodded faintly.

"If you'll excuse me," the doctor dropped some files he had been holding into the holster at the end of Ron's bed. "I think I'll have the staff phone his parents again."

_They won't come…_ Kim thought. _He only has me… me and… Rufus?_ Where _was_ Rufus! Hadn't he been in Ron's pant pocket as per usual?

"Uh, wait a second!" Kim called out to the doctor's retreating back.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Where's, uh, where's Ron's stuff?" the doctor gave her an inquiring look. "Like his clothes. That stuff, where is it?"

"Oh, it should be folded in his bottom bedside drawer."

"Right, thanks."

Kim faced Ron. She was still quite some distance away from the bed. She made to take a step forwards but found that she couldn't. Although she wanted to investigate Rufus' possible whereabouts, it felt like a violation to step any closer to Ron. _After all, I caused thi- no. I didn't cause this. This isn't my fault. Then why do I feel so guilty?_

She gazed at Ron from her spot warily. She couldn't do it. Kim couldn't take another step. It felt like she was violating something, but what she didn't know. If he were awake, would he want her to approach him? _He'd probably prefer Tara over me._ _He'd want Tara and her big b-_

"Kimmie, we're going to go take a seat back in the waiting room," Mrs Possible said softly.

Startled, Kim flushed and turned to face her parents. "Oh, ah, cool."

"Take your time," Mr Possible added, giving her a sad smile. "Take as long as you need."

She watched her parents depart the recovery room, hand in hand. This made a faint smile rise on Kim's mouth as she remembered past events apprehensively. She bit her lower lip, still unsure about approaching Ron.

_What should it matter?_ She asked herself and mentally rolled her eyes at herself for being so tentative. _It's not like he's going to bite me if I go anywhere near him. He can't hurt me now, not like before when I was near him. _She studied Ron's gentle features curiously. _And… I guess I can't hurt him either._

Her courage felt like it had been buried under a massive landslide, but somehow Kim found a small part of it again and strutted forwards. As she did this, she was determined not to look at Ron, but solely focused only on his bedside table.

When she reached the table, Kim bent down, opening the cabinet door and found, just as the doctor had said, Ron's school sweats folded neatly on a shelf. Lifting up the purple sweater, Kim pulled out the golden pants and before she could open up his pocket flap, Rufus himself burst free, gasping for air.

"Rufus! There you are! I was worried about you."

Ron's precious pet blinked rapidly and looked around himself in utmost confusion. While he was still bewildered, Kim plucked him gently out of Ron's pant pocket and onto her hand, storing Ron's uniform back into the cabinet.

Standing up, Kim let Rufus sit in her palm as the two of them stared in silence at Ron next to them.

Kim felt her shoulders slump as she stared down at Ron. It felt strange to Kim, shiver-worthy even, to look at Ron in the condition he was in. Because… with him actually silent and his eyes closed… it just wasn't right. Rons weren't meant to stay in a perpetual state of silence. To Kim, he didn't even look like he was sleeping and yet his eyes were so peacefully shut it was just so…

_It's so eerie… and I caused this… or, I _feel_ like I did._

Abruptly, shaking Kim out of her thoughts, Rufus began to chatter angrily, gnashing his giant teeth at Kim. Shocked at Rufus' suddenly violent outbreak, Kim pulled back. Rufus leapt out of her hands to coil himself close in the space between Ron's neck and shoulder. The mole-rat continued to glare menacingly at Kim, full of vindication and suspicion

"You feel like I did too, huh?" she muttered, Rufus sniffed airily, turning his face from her.

Kim sighed, and sat in the available chair behind her. Cupping her hands in her lap, she stared at them for awhile and what they had done to him, whether it was her fault or not, she still pushed him.

It was then that she remembered about contacting Wade. Reaching again into her backpack that she had brought with her, she pulled out the Kimmunicator and called him.

Wade appeared on screen, looking a little disgruntled. "They haven't put anything on their computers yet."

This amused Kim, "Hacking isn't _always_ the answer, Wade."

"Llama."

"You could just ask _me_."

"And..?"

The brief light-mood ended there for Kim. "Um… Ron's in a coma."

"No way…"

"He had malaria."

"What! No lie?"

"No lie," Kim shook her head. "It went untreated for so long… I should have seen this coming. This was why he was sick when our hands were attached."

"But how?" Wade asked, more to himself, scratching his head. "When…"

"I already figured it out."

"Yes?"

"Remember that same mission when our hands stuck to each other? Long ago?"

"South America, of course!" Wade stroked his chin, "It… it was night time when you were there too. A mosquito bit him, probably."

"No."

"No?"

"Did we ever tell you about the gang fight?"

"The what fight?"

Kim sighed, hadn't she and Ron told anyone about it? "Ok, quick downlo, there was a gang, they attacked, we fought back, we won."

"And this was..?"

"At the airport," Kim informed, pointing a finger at Wade.

"Aaah, ok. So?"

"So Ron bit one of the gang members; the one that had malaria, of course."

"He _bit_ him?" Wade grimaced. "I guess that's not too out of character for Ron."

Kim allowed herself a smirk, "He's always been a scratcher and a biter."

"SAY WHAT?"

"NOT LIKE THAT," Kim glared furiously at Wade, "In fights."

"I knew that," Wade lied obviously. "Guess it comes with the whole 'monkey' thing."

"Probably," Kim shrugged. "As I was _saying_, Ron bit the gang member. There was lots of blood, rated R."

"Ew…"

"But that's how he caught it. My parents say it's not my fault, but I can't help but feel to blame, Wade. He attacked the guy to protect me because I couldn't save myself (for once)."

Wade shook his head, "Well, I agree with your parents. That doesn't make it your fault."

"_I know_ (that now)."

"Well, well, well," Wade continued, returning to stroking his chin. "Now that I know this, I can do some more specific digging."

Kim wasn't sure if she should smile or not, but she couldn't help but say, "So you can help him? You can wake him out of the coma?"

Wade gave him a rather guilty look. "Kim… I'm sorry, no."

"What do you mean 'no'?" she tilted her head, looking injured.

"No-one, not me or any scientist in the world can wake someone out of a coma. It's something that's still so unknown to humans, something we don't yet fully understand."

Kim continued to plead desperately, "But surely _something_ in all the missions-"

"I'm sorry, Kim." He looked it. "I'll do my digging and surf sources, but keep your hope level negative below."

Kim closed her eyes, taking in a long, steady breath. "Alright, Wade. I understand. Thanks."

"Take care, Kim."

Kim pocketed the Kimmunicator into her backpack and continued to gaze at Ron, mentally willing him to awaken.

It was true that Kim wasn't sure how long she'd been at the hospital and she wasn't sure how long she'd stay, sitting beside Ron. But she was positive she would stay as long as possible. Looking at Ron, who knew how long she would have to spend by his side.

-ø-

Kim _had_ stayed until visiting hours were over and the nurses had to 'heavily' persuade Kim that Ron would be just fine without her keeping an overnight vigil. Kim highly doubted this, after all, she had left him with them and now the boy was in a _coma_. But in the end her parents escorted her off the property and drove her room. It was still raining in Upperton and all the way to Middleton as Kim sat in the backseat of her parents' car.

She sat, face in hand, staring blankly out the back window watching the rain violently splatter her window, watching the splattered raindrops slip down the glass and gather in the rubber below. The only sounds so far was that of the window-wipers sweeping back and forth mechanically, clearing away the rain on the front window. Back and forth, back and forth in Kim's mind… an endless, repetitive sound for her endless, repetitive thoughts to metronome to.

"We dropped off the boys at a friend's," Mr Possible spoke, looking at Kim through the rear-view window. "We have to pick them up first." Kim didn't respond. "Hey, how about picking up some take-away to-night? What will it be, Kimmie-cub? Chinese or pizza?"

Mrs Possible's eyes joined her husbands in the rear-view window, both waiting for Kim's response but receiving none.

"Kimmie?" her Mother asked.

"I'm fine with either, really," Kim shrugged. "To tell you the truth, I don't feel much like eating."

"True, I forgot I gave you money for food at the hospital." (But that wasn't the reason why Kim didn't feel hungry.) "What did you eat?"

Kim shrugged, "Stuff."

Mr and Mrs Possible exchanged meaningful looks with one another.

"Kimmie, I know what happened is… impacting, but you can't let it bring you down," Mrs Possible said. "Ron wouldn't like to see you like this."

"How do you know?" Kim murmured, lifting a finger and following the trail of a slipping raindrop down the windowpane. "He's not here to speak his mind."

"I'm going to take a shot in the dark here and assume this has to do with the fact that Ron hasn't been over at the house ever since you two had that shouting match upstairs long ago. Now your Mother and I haven't pressed for details but now we're really concerned for you."

"You and Ron never had a tiff that lasted longer than two days," Mrs Possible added. "Now that Ron's…"

"In a coma?" Kim helped glumly.

"Yes, in a coma, don't you think that it's time to let bygones be bygones? I know Ron enough that if you were ever in strife and he in your position, he'd drop all baggage and come to your aid."

Profound. This left Kim with no answer.

"Of course, it's up to you but if you hold a grudge for too long, the meaning to why that grudge grew there in the first place vanishes. Then you find yourself carrying a grudge that grows for no purpose, or a purpose you've overcome and are now willing to give-up. Do you understand what I mean, Kimmie?"

"Um… a bit. Kinda."

Mr Possible turned a corner. "Better to forgive and forget than to forget and forlorn."

This again left Kim answerless. Her parents left her with that and turned into a driveway, both of them leaving to pick-up Jim and Tim at the house they had left them at. Peering curiously through one of the windows, Kim thought the house-owners to be quite messy and their home décor quite askew. Judging by the way these so-called 'friends' of Mr and Mrs Possible handed over the twins to their parents, this new décor had been forced upon them quite recently.

Once in the car and the question of dinner brought up again, Jim and Tim declared pizza night so Mr Possible turned left, heading for the closest pizza joint for take-away. Biting her lower lip, Kim spoke up and asked if they could go for Bueno Nacho instead. Her parents knew her reasons all too well and Bueno Nacho won out, despite the angered wails of her brothers.

Returning home with Bueno Nacho bags for all, Kim ate downstairs with her family, not saying much. Her brothers ruled the conversations, talking about school, potential projects, and then having her parents lecture the boys.

Kim felt as if she was indulging in a guilty pleasure, eating the Bueno Nacho. In fact, it had been her first time having the food again since that last time when her and Ron's hands had been attached, how Josh had seen them…

Cramming the chimerrito into her mouth and dusting off her hands, Kim retired upstairs for an early bed.

Upstairs, Kim discovered the time and realised it was far later than she thought. No wonder she felt herself hungry again while actually eating the Bueno Nacho. Changing into her purple pyjamas, Kim pulled over her homework using this to distract her mind. At night, her mind was always prone to wandering back to Ron and all the annoying hell that ensued.

As to be assumed, she couldn't focus on her homework. In her textbook, Kim found herself to be reading the same sentence over and over for the past four minutes. _No good, it's no good_, Kim shook her head and slammed her textbook shut.

_Should I phone Josh?_ She found herself asking. _I usually phone him when I need comfort and yet…_ She didn't really _want_ Josh's comfort. _There is no comfort in Josh_, she thought sullenly. _There was only ever comfort in…_Her eyes wandered…. Wandered onto the Rabphin forever sitting on her bedside table.

Stuffing her untouched homework into her school bag on the floor, Kim reached for the plush by its bunny ears. She lost her grip and the little rabbit/dolphin Cuddle Buddy fell to the ground.

Sighing and reaching down to pick up her dropped Rabphin, Kim felt something else… Propping herself up on her other arm as she blindly fished around with her other arm, Kim came to realise it was the little bag Ron had left in her locker months ago. Kim had taken the little bag home and dumped it in the fitting space between her bed and bed stand and had forgotten of its existence ever since.

In any case, Kim reached further inside the bag, straining to recover her Rabphin that had fallen in. Only… only her hand touched something else inside the bag. Something that Kim had never noticed before. Frowning, Kim sat up cross-legged on her bed and pulled up the small bag, placing it in front of her. She quickly pulled out her Rabphin than reached in again for that other thing she had just noticed. It was…

An envelope.

Kim had reached into the bag before and had never known anything other than the Rabphin to be inside. This envelope had been lurking in the space between the crepe paper and the bag. Turning the envelope over, Kim's hand began to tremble and she lifted a free hand to lightly cover her gaping mouth.

_To Kim_, it read. She swallowed hard, staring at it with the utmost fearful fascination. She didn't know what was inside, but it was so ironic that she should find it now. Taking in a shaky breath and closing her eyes for a second, Kim placed her finger on the back of the envelope and carefully opened the envelope.

She knew it as a card of some kind before she had opened it, she could tell by the thickness of the envelope, but what was _inside_ the envelope was what called forth Kim's curiosity. After slipping the card out of the envelope, Kim could only hold it in front of her and stare.

Kim didn't know what to expect the front of the card to look like. But all the cards Ron had given her in the past for her birthdays had been silly, joke ones with cartoons. The fact that this one featured something more… _dramatic,_ struck Kim. Still, a part of her wanted to be suspicious: _He's just trying to wiggle into my empathy!_ And yet another voice said to the other:_ Will you shut-UP, already?_

The front of the card said nothing, only a beautiful picture to melt Kim's vengeful thoughts towards her ex-best friend. Now, to find out what was inside…

Kim uttered an estranged sound from deep within her throat as she gawked, demanding herself to hold back tears that hid behind her eyes at bay. The entire card, left flap and right flap were filled with Ron's writing. She could recognise his small, flowy writing anywhere.

Taking in a huge breath, leaning back against her pillow and bed board, and, scooping up the Rabphin into her lap, Pandaroo at her side, Kim dove into the last bit of Ron she had left.

_Hey Kim, _

_Wow, ok, where to begin? Better start soon, I don't want to loose your attention now that I actually have it. Kim- I'm sorry. I'm sorry everything turned out so sucky for you. That apology is not just given out blindly either. You said you heard my thoughts right? Well, I guess I shoulda told ya before, but I could hear yours too. I started hearing yours a long while back. I didn't want to say anything cos I was kinda scared you'd get mad at me. I don't like it when you're mad. I'd never do anything on purpose to make you mad, don't you think through all these years I would have learned a thing or two about pushing your buttons? That's why what happened last night scared me, I had so much to say to you, but couldn't cos I didn't want to make you madder than you already are… were… whatever. So I'm hoping you've calmed down by now while reading this. _

She bit her lower lip, not allowing herself to scan through what he wrote. She would read it from beginning to end, no spoilers. Kim wanted to cry at finding this card he had given her just after their shout match, it just seemed so… so right, like he had left it for her to find at this very time on purpose.

_Kim, I like you. SO much like you wouldn't believe and I swear I never thought I'd ever be able to tell you. Cos you're my bestest friend first, no way in hell I'm gonna scratch that out! We've known each other for thirteen years-_

(_Fifteen, actually_, Kim thought, a smile spreading across her face.)

_- that's not something you just chuck out the car window on the highway, y'know? That's why I was all down with it when you were crushing on Mankey. And when he shot you down at Bueno Nacho, I totally felt your pain. Not just because I could literally feel your emotions through our hands as you may have had happen to you with me, but because you're my best friend. I was sad for you. No-one wants to see their best friend so ripped up, even if I liked you. All that I did for you was totally, one-hundred percent sincere. I'd do ANYTHING for you. Doing anything may be your slogan, but I'd totally try my best to don that slogan, but only for you. _

_I kissed you on the sofa because I heard your thoughts. Not to take advantage of you, but to give you what you wanted like usual. But the cool thing was, I wanted it too. We both did and you can't believe how happy I was that you finally wanted to hang with me like how I want to hang with you. Same dif with on the bed. _

_Kim, I'd do ANYTHING to be friend again with you. Like I said before, I want that the most from you, it's something I totally cherish. If you don't wanna go back to like-liking me, that's cool, I'll live. I've lived this long, right? But I dunno what I'd do if you didn't wanna be friends anymore. It's only been a couple of hours, but I miss you so much. I feel like you lived in a small part of me and now that you were all mega-hell on me, that part died, or someone stole it. Without it, I feel empty. I suck with words, I can't describe the emptiness but, whoah, it's SO huge. Dragging me down and my mind is always on you. The emptiness makes me feel sick._

_Kim, don't you feel it too? Some sort of absence? Please say you do. PLEASE_ _say you_ _want that void filled again. I'm waiting for you Kim, all you have to do is come to me. This is me coming to you. _

_Kim, I just. I like you so much. _

_Ron._

Kim leaned back, allowing the full force of Ron letter to sweep over her, to soak in every word that he himself thought before actually writing it down on this very card Kim now held in her trembling hands. Honestly, she didn't know what to think. It had been one shock after another that day and with any more, Kim might be blown into a coma as well! Eyes barely focusing, Kim looked down at Ron's writings, skimming through every word until she came across a sentence in Ron's last paragraph.

_'Kim, don't you feel it too?_'

_Yes…_ Kim admitted, _I do, Ron. I do feel it, I always had. _What Ron had described about being apart from Kim was exactly how she was feeling, like he was reading her mind. But he hadn't then, that was how he felt… they felt the same towards one another. Except for Ron, when he had written this, it had only been hours, what short a time in contrast with the weeks that had now passed.

But… her doubt was beginning to take over again. _Caution here, Possible, don't let your emotions run you over._ What if this was one of Ron's continued ploys? Everything written on the card another lie? Yet how could she thinks such a thing, to even _consider_ hating him when she so obviously knew and accepted that she still liked him?

He'd done so much to prove that she shouldn't even give him a moments thought. And yet at the same time… Now her mind breeched the walls that she had built in her mind, walls that she didn't dare herself to break down; walls that covered memories of what Ron _had_ done for her. She hadn't wanted to remember those in the past as positive things Ron did back then.

His comforting her on the bed, on the sofa… but no, all those things could still be described as some sort of plot of Ron's. Wasn't there anything that her doubt couldn't counter? Something recent?

_Think, Possible… I _need_ to think of something…_

The gang fight!

Ron's new cruel 'tude was intact back then and still he fought valiantly to save her, risking his own well-being (which wasn't something Ron was commonly known for). Kim looked down at the card and reread it. He _did_ care for her, Kim concluded. Even if it had all been a mask during their hand holding sitch. Ron was _still_ there for her when she needed someone. She _had_ found comfort and concern in his own eyes and… and what he had said to her in the bog, that all couldn't have been a mask, some of that had to be the old, real Ron shinning through. Besides, Ron wasn't smart enough to pull something that grandeur.

Yet there was still his own thoughts she overheard, there wasn't any way Kim could nix those. That Ron whose thought she had overheard and the Ron writing this card before her seemed to clash with one another. Certainly he didn't have some weirdo split personality thing going down.

It didn't make any sense… She had evidence to back up both Rons and yet there could have only been one.

Kim lifted her head and gazed out her bedroom window towards the sky, speckled with twinkling stars of hope shining through a surrounding deep night all around. Her thoughts were troubled.

Not two Rons. But one, always one, a very _confused_ Ron. Looking down at the card again and remembering all that he had done for her, Kim knew that Ron liked her. She understood. He liked her in the way that she liked him; it was right there in his parting sentence. But…

_Ron mustn't know _how_ to tell me! _

The answer! A revelation. Understanding came unto Kim.

She palmed her forehead in frustration. _Ergh! I've been so _stupid!_ If only I had discovered this letter the day he sent it to me! Great going, Possible, a real Sherlock or Poirot. Totally. Ron, he… he just doesn't know how to describe his feelings. Duh, he's a _GUY_… and was never a very bright one at that…_ she grimaced. _Ron… I was his only role-model who's a _GIRL_, so that doesn't help him much (I hope). He had no guy friends before Felix and likely his parents never said anything. What if everything he learned for teenage guy-ish advice and that kind of stuff was from TV? He was trying to get me to like him but not knowing he was going about it all wrong. Like… like when he spiked my drink at the party And… _ohmigosh-_ the _Australian mission!_ Oh, Ron, you're always so confused!_ Her theory matched perfectly with her conversation with him in Gil's backyard!

Kim dropped her card into her lap and covered her eyes with her hands. Not crying, only thinking, divulging.

_We _so_ need to talk._

All this time- _all this time-_ Kim just had to dig deeper into the gift bag and she would have found his card. Then she would have figured him out sooner. She'd still be angry at him, but she wouldn't have been harsh since he hadn't even understood what he was doing was WRONG. And they never would have gone thought all those weeks of separated hell!

_I could have talked to him, told him calmly what he was doing wrong. Maybe then we could have been able to focus on his sickness and cured him before this stupid coma! _Again she groaned audibly. She didn't believe if she'd ever felt more stupid in her _life_.

Now that Kim had it all figured out, she felt the desire to be close to him rise even more intensely inside of her. There wasn't any way she would be able to sleep to-night, she didn't even feel tired despite all she went through that day.

Stretching out her legs, Kim sighed, picking up the card. Sitting still, she reread it twice, clutching her Rabphin close. Even though she was miles away from Ron, reading the card made her feel closer to him than she had in weeks. Placing the card upright on her bedside desk, Kim pulled over the Kimmunicator and decided to do a little educational net search on comatose patients. She had no clue when she would fall asleep that night but she was sure that when she did, she would have one of the first relatively peaceful sleeps in a very, _very_ long time.

-ø-

Slowly coming into waking, Kim blinked away the blear in her eyes, preparing them for the morning sunlight. Wiggling and stretching, her body felt unbelievably stiff and sore; it felt as if she just woke after a long cry fest. Kim hadn't cried herself to sleep last night, but she did recall that she had indeed done more than her fair share of crying yesterday—travesty too.

It had been one bomb after another yesterday, all of it drowning her and no sign of surface anywhere. Honestly, it irritated Kim. She _hated_ feeling this way, it felt like a chain iron ball attached to her leg and how desperately did she wish to be free of all the weight and depressive moods. It was sickening how she let herself fall into this bottomless pit.

Of course, the question was. Did she fall into it? Or had she been pushed? Or maybe a bit of both, if that was possible. But all that was far too deep for Kim's morning brain.

Kim rolled over, laying on her back and stared blankly at her ceiling. First she had a shouting match with Ron, then he was in a coma, not to mention the malaria he had had _all_ this time… Who knew when he'd awake. And even when (_If?_) he did, she'd have to confront him, then what?

Kim looked away bitterly, noticing the Rabphin beside her. She drew the Ron-given plush close, furrowing her brow in consternation.

It could possibly be that Ron was already awake by now. He might be sitting, awake with Rufus, in his hospital bed. Maybe _Tara_ was with him, if she had found out about what happened. Kim's brain had been so preoccupied when she followed Ron on the stretcher out of Upperton High's gymnasium that she wasn't sure who saw them.

_I… I want to visit him. Again. _

Whether Ron was awake or not, Kim felt desperate to visit him after school. It ached inside of her to know that Ron wasn't home in his bed a few streets down. To dwell on the fact that Ron was _all_ the way in Upperton while she was _all_ the way in Middleton made Kim feel anxious and fidgety. She had to be closer to him. In fact, Kim shouldn't even be here. She should have stayed by Ron's side all through the night. Perhaps being near him would help fill this void within Kim that she needed so badly to be covered. Did she really have to wait until after school?

What time was it anyway? Kim rubbed her eyes; she didn't recall waking to the sound of her alarum clock. Was it really _that_ early? She couldn't believe that she had awoken before her alarum went off, after all the events yesterday, Kim would have thought she'd have slept like a log.

Yawning, Kim rolled to her right to check the time, still clutching the Rabphin.

_! OHMIGOSH!_ "NO WAY!"

Or maybe she _had_ slept like a log: _1:34pm_?

Flustered, Kim clutched her head, bewildered that she could have slept that long and all through her morning alarum. _Why didn't my parents wake me!_

With slick reflexes and speed, Kim leapt out of the bed, stumbled slightly but quickly recovered to dash behind her changing screen. She fished through her closed for any convenient clothing lying about. Quickly, Kim stripped out of her purple pyjamas and into her peasant-chic top with the flared sleeves and into her blue, baggy pants.

_I can _not_ believe this! I missed so many classes- all the morning ones… I might even miss Chem so that leaves gym, then I'll have to ask around for notes I missed and-_

Kim was hoping out from behind the screen, trying to slip on her socks when she spotted a piece of paper left on her table. Kim tried to reach for it with her other hand for the note while she tried to pull on her sock with the other, in the end, she crashed to the floor.

"Ergghhh!" Kim wailed, flailing her arm for the paper. She snatched it and ran down her bedroom loft stairs with one sock barely one all while trying to read the paper which was actually a note.

But when she reached the bottom of her stairs, she halted, reading the ending of the note.

_Kimmie- we turned your alarum clock off to give you a sleep in. Don't worry about school for to-day, your Father and I thought it best to give you a day's recovery from yesterday's events. If you plan on visiting Ron, please wait until your Father or myself come home to drive you._

_Love you, Mom_

Kim sighed and slowly climbed back up the stairs, placing the note back on her bedside table. She flopped down backwards on her bed, bouncing up and down lightly from the recursion.

_Thanks, guys_, Kim thought sincerely, shutting her eyes in relief. She _really_ did need that sleep in. She couldn't imagine going to school after what happened yesterday. It wasn't just her body condition, but dealing with everyone around her. Kim was positive some of her cheer squad must have heard or seen what happened and surely they told their friends and, well, news travels fast with the girls of Middleton High. Grimacing, Kim imagined being bombarded by people and questions. After all, Kim was really the only person who knew what happened. Although Kim definitely felt stronger than yesterday, she still didn't feel up to dealing with people and the sitch.

Rolling over, Kim thought about what to do, yesterday's homework came to mind. It wouldn't be long until Kim's Mother came home. When she did, Kim would certainly insist on going to visit Ron.

Sitting up, Kim grabbed her school back, pulling it over and dug out her textbooks and binders. Grabbing the stereo remote also on her bedside table, Kim turned on some music, playing the CD that was already in the player. She situated the Rabphin in front of her and began to flip through her student planner. Although her mind was constantly prone to wandered elsewhere, she forced herself to hunker down to her homework. It was a good thing she didn't go to school after all that day, she hadn't had any of her homework done!

Last night had been a huge revelation for her; it was so hard to digest it. But she had settled on the fact that Ron was only misguided, it was the only answer she could surmise with all the proof she had.

The Rabphin sat beside her watching her complete her homework. To have the Ron-given plush sitting beside her felt less guilty and its little beady eyes felt more welcoming to Kim when she looked down at it from time to time. She even found herself smiling down at it too.

Passing the time, it was well past the school day's end by time Kim completed _all_ of her homework. Kim blew strands of fly away hair out of her eyes, leaning back and feeling accomplished. Shoving away her homework back into her bag, Kim was just pondering what to do next when she heard the faint sound of her doorbell ringing.

Perking up and wondering who could be stopping by her house, Kim grievously heaved herself out of bed and down the stairs towards the front door. It could be Jim and Tim, perhaps they lost their keys. But no, as Kim rounded the upstairs corner, Kim heard their voices coming from their bedroom, they were home already.

_Well, only one way to find out_, Kim shrugged and opened the front door.

"Kim…" It was Tara of all people who stood before her.

Kim lifted her chin slightly, wondering how to act around her 'rival'. "Um, yes..?" It had to be about Ron. Kim realised only then that she had missed cheer practice that day too.

"I picked up these from the change rooms yesterday," Tara said gently, offering Ron's duffle bag and slinging his school backpack off her shoulder. "I don't know where he lives. I couldn't take them to his house."

"Oh, thanks…" Kim murmured, taking the bags from Tara. After placing them on the floor beside her for the meantime, the two girls stood there for some while, both wondering what should be said, if anything at all.

"You heard about what happened to Ron?" Kim asked, clearing her throat.

"Yes," Tara replied.

"Oh."

"It's so tragic… and…" Tears began to well up in the corners of Tara's eyes. She scrunched herself up and wiped them away with a soft pale hand. "I'm so scared for him!"

Kim cast her head down, "I'm scared for him too."

Tara lifted her head, her eyes squinting at Kim. "Are you? Really?"

"Yes."

"I-I'm going to visit him to-day. You've seen him already?" her voice was breaking.

"Yesterday. I saw him yesterday," Kim said.

"Ah…" Tara looked around herself, blushing and flustering. "Please make sure his things return to his home… I didn't know who else to bring them to."

"Right, thanks, I will."

"Bye…"

"Bye."

Tara turned around and headed towards a sleek, silver car parked on the street in front of Kim's house. Kim shut the door and picked up Ron's bags, carrying them up to her room and laid them on the floor.

Biting her lower lip, Kim stared down at Ron's bags and thought about how tempting they were… Kim wondered if it would be alright for her to go through his bags. She wouldn't really like it if Ron did this to hers, (not that he ever asked for permission), but she felt she had the right to… in case there was anything that could either further her new found beliefs of a misguided Ron or… or completely shatter them.

She started with his duffel bag first but found nothing other than his Mad Dog costume and school clothes. Zipping that back up and stuffing it into a safe corner of her room, Kim pulled over his school bag. Textbooks, binders, pencil case, a couple of bills and change, and his house keys. Nothing out of the ordinary.

_And no special little packages_. Now was that a relief or a worry? _Whatever,_ she decided and stuffed his school bag beside his other in the corner. Sitting on the floor, Kim sighed and leaned back against her bed, wondering what to do next, something to pass the time between now and seeing Ron again at the hospital.

She didn't have to do anything, her phone rang.

Surprised and yet thankful for a distraction, Kim clambered up and off the floor, picking up her blue telephone. "'Y'ello?"

"Hey, Kim!" She thought it might be Josh phoning to check up on her, perhaps he had heard what had happened yesterday at school, but no. Not that Kim was disappointed, the caller was Monique.

"Oh, hi!" Kim struggled to attempt optimism. "What's the sitch?"

"I heard what happened," Monique softened her voice a bit. "It's horrible! How are you doing?"

There was some noise in the background on Monique's end so it was a little hard for Kim to hear her friend; she pressed a hand to her other ear. "How'd you find out?"

"Girl, the whole _school_ is talking.

"They are?" Kim's insides raced while she worried over _what_ the school actually knew about what happened.

"Apparently, some people saw what happened at Upperton-"

"Whatdoyoumean?"

Monique raised her voice at her end, "I mean, they saw the paramedics come and cart Ron away, they saw you go with."

"Ah."

"Everyone's been wondering what's been going on especially with you not showing up to-day! You ok?"

"I'm doing as well as anyone could be," Kim assured. "But does anyone know _exactly_ what happened to Ron?"

"Yes," Monique said (more noise on her end), "Most of the twelfth grade was waiting outside the gymnasium after school."

Kim almost laughed, "What _for_? Since when do they care about Ron?"

"They don't! It's gossip! Mr Barkin was going to tell the cheerleaders what happened and we were all waiting for the girls to dish after."

Kim laughed, "And did Bonnie do that?"

Monique joined in the laughter, "She sang, girl, she sang! Malaria, coma, the whole shebang. Gosh, I can't believe it myself, poor Ron! Oh, and by the by, Middleton won cheer regionals."

Kim could barely care anymore, "Did Bonnie say how I found Ron or anything like that..?"

"Rumours say he collapsed in the lounge and then you found him when you were coming out of the girl's change room. But years of being your friend _and_ paying attention to current events tell me a different story."

"Hahaha, another time, Monique." Again the noise hindered her ability to hear Monique, "Hey, look, where _are_ you? There's so much noise!"

"Sorry, I'm on the bus."

"The bus?"

"I'm on my way to Upperton Hospital to visit Ron: a couple of other people are with me- EVERYONE SAY HI TO KIM."

Kim heard the shouts on the other end of various people calling: "HEEEEY KIIIIIIMMMM!" It really helped to lift Kim's spirits.

She was laughing again as she mock-scolded Monique, "And you didn't even bring me?"

"We thought you'd like to go later alone," Monique replied, still laughing.

"I am, enjoy yourselves!" Kim sighed away the laughs, "Say hi to Ron for me."

"Will do, talk to you soon, Kim. I'll call you later to give you the homework you missed. Bye!"

Everyone in the background shouted out and into Kim's ear: "BYYYEEEE KIIIIMMM!"

"BYEEE!" Kim shouted back and hung up the phone still laughing to herself. She had needed that phone call. It was wonderful to know the few friends she had left still cared.

But what about _Josh_? Would he have heard about Ron? She made herself believe that he hadn't otherwise he would have phoned her. Not that she was relying on him phoning her. _I can deal with this on my own. Well, I'd like _someone_ with me, but he obviously can't be…_ Of course that was Ron.

Looking at the clock again, Kim concluded that it'd still be sometime until her Mother returned from her work at the Middleton Hospital. Kim decided to do some more online research in the meantime.

-ø-

"Kimmie, I'm home," Mrs Possible sang out, stepping in the front door and pulling off her coat. In what seemed like an instant, Kim was at her side, wearing her Club Banana coat and her backpack already snug on her back. Mrs Possible smiled knowingly. "I assume you want me to take you to the hospital?"

Kim flushed, holding her hands behind her back. "You said you would…"

"Alright then, just wait for your Father to come home so someone can keep an eye on the boys."

Kim groaned, rolling her eyes.

"Don't worry," her Mother assured, walking past Kim and heading towards the kitchen. "It won't be long. I phoned him and asked him to come home as soon as possible… for you."

"Thanks, Mom!"

-ø-

Walking in the room, Kim spotted Ron, he was either asleep or still in the coma, but heaving a sigh, Kim knew which it was. It wasn't long before her Father had come home to watch over the twins. The split-second he stepped in the door, Kim pulled her Mom out the door. During the drive, she had felt distressed, playing with the idea that perhaps he had awoken. She had stopped at the receptionist's desk to ask for Ron's new room number. Thankfully, he had a room to his self. Now that she was in his room, she swallowed hard and treaded softly, keeping her silence and walked up to his bed. She was about to turn to Ron when something else caught her attention.

It was Ron's bedside table. Taken aback, Kim found it to be decorated in assorted cards and flowers- already! Stepping forwards with curiosity, Kim lifted up a card.

'_Hey Ron, Wishing you well everyday, we all miss you –Monique_'

Kim smiled faintly, not only had they come to visit, but they had clearly bombarded Ron with well-wishing. She picked up another one and opened the card.

'_Ron- Get well soon, I'm missing my game buddy. Take care, Felix_'

The other cards were all basically the same, from Wally, Zita and even Wade. Well, not all of them were well wishers, Kim almost laughed when she picked up another: _'Yo Ron, hope you die, Gil_'.

There was one last card for Kim to look at and she didn't doubt who it was from. When she flipped it open, her assumptions were correct, it was from Tara.

'_Dear Ron, please get well soon. I miss you so much and I think of you often. Wishing you well, Tara_'

Kim scoffed after reading this, placing the card back. A devious thought came to mind. Looking around suspiciously in case anyone was watching her, Kim picked up Tara's card and slid it into the table drawer, smiling smugly to herself.

Looking back at the cards, Kim realised that the flowers behind them were also from friends, not just placed there for decoration by the hospital staff. Ron had never been big on flowers, especially posies. (She wasn't sure why but whenever she mentioned the flower, it caused Ron's eye to twitch spasmodically.) Reading the little cards attached to the flowers, Kim found one bouquet to be from Wade, a vase with a few flowers to be from Zita and Monique and finally, the largest arrangement from Tara. Kim noticed that there was nothing from his parents.

"They're nice, aren't they?"

Kim turned around, startled but relaxed when she realised it was her Mother strolling into the room.

"What, the flowers?" Kim asked, turning back to look at them.

"Just everything," Mrs Possible replied genially, now standing beside her daughter. "So many people care for him. Did you want to go down to the gift shop and purchase something to add to his collection?" a playful smile danced about her Mother's lips.

Kim turned away from her. To Kim it felt like her Mother had X-Ray vision and could see Kim's inner battle towards Ron. She tried to sound indifferent and shrugged, "What does it matter? It's not like he can read them. Y'know, he doesn't even know that they're here, why waste your money?"

"It's the thought that counts."

Kim uttered a small coarse laugh, "How cliché."

"He'll see them when he awakes then."

"_If_ he awakes…"

"Well, I'm going back downstairs to purchase him something anyway, from your Father and I," Kim's Mother countered. She still had that smile and her voice sounded as if she found Kim's sulk amusing. "If you change your mind, you can come and meet me."

Kim rubbed her fingers on the table counter, "I doubt I will."

"It'd be nice to show him that you care."

Kim had no answer for this, so she just hunkered down in the available chair next to Ron.

Mrs Possible shrugged, "Suit yourself," and walked back out of the room.

Kim was highly aware that she was acting childish again but she was so lost that she didn't know how to act. She looked up at Ron grimly, cursing herself again for tripping into another small rut of angst with a sprinkle of depressio to go. Just because Kim had pushed Ron and he had gone into a coma because he had malaria didn't mean Kim had to allow herself to _constantly_ be in a sour 'tude, right?

_Right._

It was a lot easier to say it than to convince herself so, especially with Ron right in front of her.

His head was propped up on a pillow, hooked up to the various monitors and fluids. Seeing this again, Kim lifted her hand to cover her mouth as she gazed dishearteningly at Ron. She reached out tentatively but stopped when she spotted Rufus. The mole-rat was again tucked between his neck and shoulder, but this time he was thankfully asleep. She continued to reach out and tentatively placed her hand on top of Ron's soft blonde hair.

A shiver ran down Kim's spine and she pulled back slowly. She studied his face again. It was so strange to see Ron like this. Kim could have sworn he was just sleeping peacefully, but how could he? His eyes didn't even move, not even the barest flicker. Recalling when she had watched Ron sleep beside her when their hands had been attached, she remembered seeing Ron's eyelids flicker as he slept, as he dreamt. But this time, as Kim watched Ron, his eyes did not flicker. He did not dream.

_What's it like for you?_ Kim wondered, leaning forwards, now looking upon Ron with intent. Although she had researched comatose patients on the Kimmunicator, she had discovered that no-one, not even the patients themselves after they awoke (those that did) knew what their state had been like. _You can't be dreaming, so what are you doing? Frozen in time? Thinking? Could you… could you actually be able to hear me? Do you know what's happened? Do…do you blame me?_

She wanted to ask Ron this question so desperately. She even opened her mouth slightly as if to speak, but no sound could come out.

Slipping off her backpack from her shoulder and placing her bag onto her lap, Kim halted, looking back at Ron nervously as if he was spying on her before she nervously pulled out the card he had sent her. Placing her bag on the floor beside her chair, Kim held the card in front of her.

She looked out the window into the hospital hallway, eyeing anybody that walked by. Reassured that no-one was about to walk in, Kim cleared her throat and gathered up her courage.

"So," she said. Her eyes darted up at Ron but he didn't move, neither did Rufus but she saw him stir. "I, uh, read your card last night. Y'know, the one you wrote for me." She laughed anxiously, "For the first time, actually. Yea. The first time. It's, uh, y'know," Kim cleared her throat feeling increasingly stupid by the second. "Pretty deep. It's, pretty deep. I'm actually surprised at you, Ron. Oh, and proud. Surprised and proud that you wrote out all your thoughts on this," she waved the card. "It makes things a bit more clear, it does."

_Ok, now this is just stupid._ Kim had read last night that talking to someone in a coma helped. _Yea,_ she snorted and thought sarcastically, _help who? Him or me?_ It felt too awkward to talk to someone who wasn't able to hear her, or unable to respond.

Flushing at her folly, Kim slipped her card back into her backpack and sat pretty with her hands folded on her knees, looking around Ron's room.

"But I did read the card," Kim added, looking at Ron and nodding more to herself.

Recalling the information she had read, she knew patients didn't _remember_ hearing anything when they were in a coma after awaking, but did that mean he couldn't hear her _now_? She bit her lower lip already feeling her mouth wanting to form more audible words to Ron.

Nothing came. She could only gaze at him stupidly, drowning in her self guilt.

Her Mother returned carrying a vase of flowers and a card. Strolling past Kim, she placed both of these items on Ron's already clustered table, full of tokens showing all the love and support from his friends. Looking on now as her own Mother placed her gift to the table, Kim felt like everybody had something to offer except herself.

"Doesn't that look lovely," her Mother commented, rearranging the items on Ron's table.

Kim said nothing.

"If you want, you can sign the card. Your Father will sign it next time he comes."

Kim's eyes darted to the floor.

"Well, I'm going to stop by some nearby shops to pick up some things, you can stay as long as you like, Kimmie. I'll meet you back in the car."

When her Mother left, Kim spent until the end of visiting hours, alone and in silence with Ron and a sleeping Rufus. She'd gaze at him intently, wishing she had the guts to say something and yet she'd turn away in shame.

When the nurse tapped on the door late in the evening politely telling Kim it was the end of visiting hours, she nodded, picking up her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. She stood for a few awkward moments, still a distance from Ron's bed.

Sucking in all her courage, she hesitantly crept forwards until she was right up to his bed. Swallowing, Kim lifted up a shaking hand and pressed her palm tenderly to Ron's cheek. Kim gasped softly and the longer her hand lingered on Ron's cheek, the more her fright vanished.

_Yes, I remember this,_ Kim affirmed. _This is my old self. _Our_ old selves._

What a marvel how a touch from the boy who helped spiral Kim's world to pieces could give her courage to help and take the first steps to piecing it back together. It made her smile, not a weak, nervous smile but rather a strong, firm smile, one with shinning hope, like how she used to be.

Lightly, she stroked Ron's cheek with more certainty than she had ever had in these past weeks. She felt the fear-hate for him disappearing, that 'grudge' that her parents and told her about. It was releasing itself from Kim. She was ready to approach the facts, the matter, _the sitch_, and not tear up stupidly. She was ready to approach it like she used to approach anything: confident, assertive… with company.

"Ok, Ron, I don't know if you can hear me or not, but I'm waiting for you to come back now. And this time… I'll be there for you when you return. You can get through this… I want you to know that. I'll be back to-morrow."

Kim pulled away, still smiling with intense affection at Ron's silent form, still on the bed. Turning away, the smile on Kim's face never left her as she thought to herself heading out the door: We_ can get through this…_She held up her small white envelope, eyes dazzling with strength, _thank-you, Ron._


	5. Dealing With It

¤ Instalment 05 »» _Dealing With It _¤

* * *

I always want to be near you and protect you

If anything should happen, I'll always be there

-Oh My Goddess, '_Staying Here Eternally_'

* * *

Without even realising it, Kim was coping fairly well given the circumstances over the next couple of weeks. She'd visit Ron often, 'often' translating as 'practically daily'. All the money she used to spend at Bueno Nacho was now spent as bus fare, riding to and from the Upperton Hospital. During the weekdays after cheer practice she'd bus over to visit Ron, often completing her homework and even having dinner at the hospital. It was almost like a second home to her now. 

But she wasn't the only one who remembered him. Ron had other visitors as well, Felix would come with Zita—even Monique swung by with Kim, and of course Kim caught Tara elusively pop up from time to time but never… not once did Kim ever see Ron's parents stop by. But perhaps they dropped by when Kim wasn't around. Perhaps they visited their son early in the morning or when Kim was at school, or perhaps on those rare days when Kim was forced to be away, like on a mission.

Kim hardly had any missions anymore, she wasn't sure why Wade wasn't beeping her as often as he used to. Her mission failing flunk continued on those she did go on but she did win the odd battle, mainly by accident. She did fight with more vigour than when she and Ron had been torn apart, now that she knew Ron was waiting for her back at the hospital. But his absence on the actual mission was dearly missed. As time passed, Kim noticed the missions being further and further apart from one another until there were basically none to be had.

In conclusion, Kim was coping fairly well with this drastic change in her life.

"Kimmie, what are you wearing?" her Mother questioned her in the kitchen one Saturday evening.

"Well, it _is_ Hallowe'en and this-" Kim replied, smiling, "Is my costume!" She twirled around on spot, showing off her costume. "You like?"

Kim was wearing a slim white dress, embroidered with an intricate gold design around the trims. Her sash was also golden, hanging at a slant with a giant silver key hanging down on a chain. Her hair was brushed beautifully with jewellery strung along the sides that glittered with her hair highlights.

"It's beautiful, Kimmie," her Mother assured, pulling out bowls from the below cupboard. "I knew it was your costume, I just wanted to know _who_ you're going as!"

"She's trying to be Beautiful but we can still see right through that disguise!" Tim grinned, bounding into the kitchen with his brother.

"Oh," Kim sneered, leering down at her twin brothers. "I see you two haven't taken off your grotesque costumes since last year."

Her brothers glared up at her in their usual every day clothes. "We thought you'd be too _old_ to dress up!" Jim retorted.

On that note, Mrs Possible whirled around to stare down at her sons in her black witch's costume.

"Aa… er… we… see ya later, Mom!" the twins hastened out of the room at a speedy rate.

Mrs Possible shook her head and turned back to emptying bags of candy into the bowls. "Does this mean you'll be helping out at the Scare for Care haunted house with us this year?"

"Sorry, Mom," Kim shook her head. "I already made plans."

"Alright then, be home by eleven. Your Father and I are going over to the Middleton Hospital now with the boys, do you need a lift anywhere?"

Again Kim shook her head. "No thanks, I'll be just fine. Have fun."

"You two, Kimmie, it's wonderful to see you upbeat." Kim's Mother strode out of the room with the bowls and bags of Trick or Treat candy.

Left in the kitchen, Kim lingered, hearing the sounds of Mrs Possible herding the boys out the door with Mr Possible right alongside. Smiling wistfully, she turned and bounded back up the stairs to her room, carrying the trim of her pure-white dress.

Once upstairs, Kim grabbed a bag that she had left hanging on her chair. Pocketing her keys and giving her appearance a final check in the mirror in the downstairs bathroom, Kim was trotting down the stairs when she heard the doorbell ring.

"Coming" Kim sang back as she reached the door, bag now in her left hand. "Josh!" she smiled, beaming up at her boyfriend.

He was wearing a costume as well, like the previous years, he was in his pirate costume, complete with eye patch and fake hook.

Lifting up his eye patch to look Kim up and down, he returned the grin. "Wow, great costume! You look wonderful in it, even more gorgeous than usual!"

Kim glowed, but did not blush. "Thanks, Josh," she replied. "I'm just stepping out, where are you headed?"

Josh gave her a stern look and gave a laugh. "What do you mean 'where am I headed'? Same place as you!"

"Oh? Really?" Kim asked, "And where's that?"

"Uh… the party… Monique's party. My band's playing there, remember?"

"Aa… oh. Right."

Josh clicked his tongue, "Aren't you coming with?"

"I made other plans," Kim admitted, _now_ she blushed… but with embarrassment. She stuttered nervously being caught on the spot. "The party wasn't even in my schedch… actually."

Josh looked surprised. "Really? Well…" there was a disconcerting silence. "Where _are_ you headed then?"

"Um… no one place… I-"

"Kim."

Kim heaved a sigh and flopped her arms at her side, "I'm going Trick or Treating if you must now."

It looked like Josh was going to give her another reprimanding look for her tone but then his eyes widened. "_Trick or Treating_? … Hahaha, I get it, it's a joke, right?"

"Um. No."

"Are you kidding me?" Josh's voice rose and looked down at her, estranged. "Trick or Treating? But… oh… Wait, your brothers? You're taking your brothers, right?"

Kim's eyes darted to the left, then rested back on Josh. "No."

"So…Wait, lemme get this straight," he shook his head, now appearing confused. "You're going Trick or Treating. Just you. Right now."

Kim placed her hands on her hips, "And why is this so hard for you to believe?"

He snorted down a laugh. "Because you're seventeen."

"Yea?"

"Yes!" Josh insisted, "Kim, I don't understand you sometimes. No," he sighed, "Make that a _lot_ of the time. Ok, let's take this one step at a time," (he checked his watch), "_Why_ are you going Trick or Treating?"

Kim's eyes glazed over and her tone sounded wistful, "Well… not really for me so much… as…. for…"

"Ron."

"Yes," Kim, leaning forwards, looked up at Josh insistently. "Josh, you have to understand! He _loved_ Hallowe'en. It was, like, his _favourite_ holiday and Trick or Treating was always the best part for him. We did it ever since year one of our friendship and this is… We always wore joint costumes and-"

"And what were you two supposed to be this year?" Josh's tone grew grim as he looked down at her pure white dress and the giant silver key dangling on the chain from her hip sash.

Kim blushed, she had to turn her head away. "Look, Josh. He's not here now but… heh, when he wakes up and knows he missed Hallowe'en, he'll be so distraught." Then she laughed, "He'd be so angry at me for not bagging him any candy!"

"H'mm, I get it."

"You do?"

He heaved an exasperated sigh, "I guess. It's one of your tradition things and even when he's gone you-"

"What do you mean 'even when he's gone'?" Kim accused.

"Kim?"

"Like, what, you never wanted me to hang with him?"

"_No_. Don't jump to conclusions."

"…"

"Kim, how about we compromise?"

Kim lifted her head to Josh with curiosity. She had turned downcast when he had said 'don't jump to conclusions'.

He placed a hand on her shoulder, it made Kim feel slightly discomforted, but she allowed his hand to linger. "How about this: come to the party with me and we can have a great time. I admit I haven't paid you much attention lately, but I do miss you and to-night will be a great time to spend some time together. Then _to-morrow_, we can go to Smarty-Mart and buy as much discounted candy as we can afford and save that for Ron when he awakes. Think of all the candy he'll get, that'll make him happy, huh?"

Kim blinked a couple of times while she digested Josh's suggestion. As it sunk it, so did her frustration. "_No_, Josh!" Agitated, she brushed his hand off her shoulder. "No, I'm not going to do that, that's like I cheated-"

"He won't know."

"_No_, just… just _no_. I have to do it this way, I _have to_. And… I'm visiting him to-night anyway and visiting hours close at ten so it's not like I'll have much time at-"

"You're visiting him _again_?"

"_Excuse me_?"

"Kim. You visit him _every_ day after school and even on the weekends! How am I supposed to spend time with my girlfriend? Look, I understand this is hitting you hard, he was your best friend; I get that. I get you two had a broken friendship and you're probably guilt tripping now. But he's not going to know the difference between to-morrow or Hallowe'en or two weeks! He's in a _coma_, Kim. He has no sense of time. Although he's alive, he's in a state just like death in our world that-"

"_Don't speak about him like that!_" Kim cried out, looking at Josh with repulsion and stumbling backwards.

"I…" Josh was surprised at her reaction. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"He is _not_ going to die," Kim retorted firmly.

"I didn't say he was going to. What I'm saying is-"

"I _get_ what you're saying, Josh. Why can't you understand that this is something I have to do for him? Look, just because he's in a coma doesn't mean he's dead! Y'know, he might have acted like jerk in the weeks before he went in the coma but I know that he isn't deep, down inside, ok? This is something I can do for him and when he wakes up he'll be so happy when I give him all the candy I'll bag and you can't take away from him."

"…" Josh closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. Slowly, he opened his eyes and stared at Kim. "Alright. Ok. You win. You win again, Kim, as always. If you want to go trick or Treating for Ron and then visit him, go ahead. I'll be playing at Monique's party, if you decide to drop by, you're more than welcome. I'll see you to-morrow at school then, Kim."

Calming down, Kim nodded faintly and watched Josh turn from her. She ran forwards at the sight of his retreating back… it reminded her of… of Ron's retreating back when he had overheard her and Josh talking the day after their hands had been separated. She almost called out to his back that now retreated from her… she'd plead for him not to leave her this time. Kim was sorry, she was wrong, just don't… _Don't leave me, Ron…_

But it wasn't Ron. It was Josh leaving her. That's right. They weren't the same no matter how much Kim tried to replace Ron with Josh. She had been for over a month now, every time she felt upset, Kim would go to Josh expecting to be treated like how Ron had always treated her. With loyalty, endearing commitment, adoration…

Josh wasn't Ron, it was so apparent in their arguments. And now so apparent to Kim from the one they just had and like all the others, she reflected. Josh had never and could never bend to Kim like Ron had. She'd been trying that with Josh for weeks now and it never worked. He had this will of his own and wouldn't let Kim overpower or dominate him. It was something that continually frustrated Kim. It was something she wasn't used to.

So she allowed Josh to walk away from her and drive away in his red convertible. It made no difference to her. He wasn't Ron and never would be.

Waiting for Josh to drive away, Kim gathered herself up and headed out the door, locking it behind her. She was rattled by her tiff with Josh, but she wouldn't allow it to ruin her night. In fact, as she walked down the street, her dress swishing smoothly around her ankles, it instantly slipped from her mind.

-ø-

With two bags of candy in either hand, Kim waited for the elevator door to open on the fifth floor of Upperton Hospital. When the door slid open, Kim smiled to see the entire floor, like the ground floor, decorated for the holiday. Streamers were strung along the walls with black bats and orange pumpkins. Numerous carved pumpkin's with lights flickering inside sat on the reception counters, even bowls of free candy. Some of the nurses too were joining in with little Hallowe'en buttons or fake witch's hair. If Ron were able to see the decorations, she knew he would have been absolutely delighted—and would probably try to snatch up as many of the free candies as he could.

Kim strode the hall until she found Ron's familiar room. Stopping just inside the doorway, Kim looked upon him and sighed wistfully.

He was still in the same position as yesterday, his head slightly propped up on the two pillows behind cushioning his head. And of course, his eyes were closed… Every time Kim saw them closed, she wondered when they would open again. How long would she have to wait? Didn't matter, _I'll wait forever if I have to_.

Walking in and pulling up a chair, Kim sat the two bags full of candy on Ron's bed beside him. "Now check that out," Kim said, dumping out the contents of the bags.

She suddenly noticed something glinting near Ron's shoulder, frowning, Kim reached forwards and grabbed… a candy wrapper! Her heart leapt for a single beat then she realised how stupid she was for getting her hopes up for that split second. Peering forwards, she saw more… all surrounding Rufus, still crunching on the last one. Kim shook her head.

"And you expect me to clean up after you?" she accused.

Rufus shrugged and continued to munch.

Ron's little pet appeared to have acknowledged Kim and actually allowed her to touch Ron in his presence but Kim still detected a small bit of hostility. She didn't blame him.

"Come over here and let's see what we have for Ron…" Kim called to Rufus, spreading out the continents of the bag all over Ron's sheet putting up her hands to block any that tried to fall to the ground.

Seeing all the new candy, Rufus eagerly leapt forwards to help. He reached out a little paw when Kim stopped him with a finger.

"Ah! These are for _Ron_ when he awakes, ok?" Rufus frowned. "No, I don't owe you anything. Now let's see… which ones didn't Ron like…"

Together, girl and mole-rat shifted through Ron's two bags of Hallowe'en candy, picking out the ones they _knew_ Ron wouldn't eat and dumping the ones he loved back in the bag. (The ones that were rejected by Kim were accepted by Rufus… in his stomach, that is.) Every so often, Kim caught herself glancing at Ron through the corners of her eyes, half of her expecting him to have moved, even just the _slightest_. But no.

Because it was Hallowe'en, visiting hours had been extended for an extra hour to eleven and Kim soon lost herself with Rufus, having fun splitting up his candy and even sneaking a stick of apple flavoured gum for herself. She absolutely couldn't wait for him to see the load she had earned him; it was much more than the previous years. Just thinking of her presenting the treats to him caused her to grin from ear to ear. But of course, he would only receive the candy after they had their talk, after Ron proved to her that he had made mistakes, going about winning her affections in the wrong way.

When the nurse knocked on the door, calling to Kim, she nodded, signalling she'd leave. Rufus returned to Ron, his own personal guard. Kim picked up the bag of treats that the two had approved of for Ron and stored them in the below cupboard of his beside table. Then Kim scooped up all the wrappers mostly left by Rufus and threw them into the nearby trashcan. The other bag she took with her for herself, perhaps add it to her drawer of chocolates back in her room.

Giving Ron one last look at the doorway, she said softly, "Happy Hallowe'en, Ron," and flicked off the room light.

-ø-

"Kim, you didn't show up at the party last night."

Kim snorted a laugh she tried to hide. "Did I say I would?"

It was the next day and Kim was out of her Hallowe'en costume and in her neon red shirt with the cream-white back and brown pants. She hadn't actually gone to seek out Josh that Lunch. In fact, she hadn't been doing much of that at all lately, unlike when Ron had been awake. Instead, Josh had found her and the two were now walking steadily towards the cafeteria.

Students were walking around the school, talking about all the parties they had gone to the prior night, Kim planned to catch up on what went on at Monique's later once she hooked up with her friend. Kim had actually planned to hook up with Monique at Lunch, but it didn't look like she would be.

Presently, Josh knotted his brow in quiet impediment, "No, but I thought it would have been nice if you could have at least swung by for the last song." Kim said nothing. "I wrote it for you."

Kim turned to face Josh for the first time, "You did?" she asked curiously.

Josh nodded, sketchbook and textbooks under his arm, "Wrote it especially for you. I really would have liked it if you could have heard it."

Kim shrugged, indifferent. "You could have told me that, it's your own fault. How was I supposed to know?"

Josh flashed her a look she didn't see. "And if I told you, would you have come?"

Again, Kim said nothing.

"I'll take that as my answer," Josh replied wryly.

Kim shrugged, "Monique's battling major deadline stress attacks," she said. "I'm going to go hang with her in the sewing room. She may need my help to hold something in place or whatever."

"Oh? You're not going to sit with me in the caf?"

_'Sit with you'? Like a freaking ornament there to accent you? If that's the kind of girl you want, go for Bonnie not me. _Instead she said, "To-day? No, I don't think I will." She said almost laughingly, "Certainly not if you're not going to be in a sour mood."

"I wonder how one catches the Sour Mood?" he retorted.

Kim turned to walk off in another hallway and said over her shoulder without turning back, "No, I think it's a disorder, not a flu."

Without a second thought on their conversation, Kim paced down the hallway towards the sewing classroom. The door was slightly ajar, so Kim politely knocked first before peeking her into the room.

"Monique, you still in here?"

Her friend was at the opposite end of the classroom fluttering over a mannequin donning a beautiful blue dress made of divine silky materials. Kim strode across the classroom, calling out to Monique again while eyeing the other dresses left on the mannequins, the end of term projects created by the other students. Comparing these to Monique's and assuming they were her classmate's designs, Monique had, by far, gone the extra mile (or four) on her dress.

The silky blue dress Monique was fussing over glittered with tiny sequins, Kim wondered if her friend had actually sewn all those on with her hands. It was off the shoulders, but had thin straps over the shoulders that even had small buckles for adjustability. The bottom of the dress was layered, cut at a slant from the mid upper thigh to the below the knee. Even though the dress was still unfinished, it would, by far, earn Monique a high grade. Kim had to give it to her, she certainly knew fashion.

"Now _that_ is stylin'," Kim commented when she had reached Monique. "You see, if they had dresses like _these_ in the Club Banana mag, I'd be a very poor teenager."

"Aah," Monique said through pins in her mouth, she plucked one out and used it to hold two pieces of material together. "TY, girl," she managed to mumble.

"Please, don't speak," Kim held up a hand, "I don't want you accidentally swallowing one of those pins."

Monique spat the rest out into her palm and gave Kim a comical glare, "Then don't make me laugh." She placed the pins on the table beside her along with her sewing basket. "So what's up, Kim? I don't think I noticed you at my party last night. Is there something you wanted to talk about or did you actually, gasp, remember me for once?" she winked playfully at Kim.

Kim flushed, "I'm sorry, Monique, I've been so busy-"

"Don't worry," she laughed, "We've _all_ been busy. Report cards are in November-"

"Which is in a couple of daaays"

"It's on my calendar," Monique heaved a sigh, "Anyone who has _not_ been working their tail-lights off must be insane or… you." Monique smirked, "Little Miss Perfect. Tell me how you're doing."

"Things have been slumping a little bit on my end though, lately."

"Oh? Ron?"

Kim rolled her eyes, taking a seat on a nearby stool. "Oh, _however_ did you guess? He's always on my mind, but… As if I didn't have him, end of term projects, report cards, cheer practice and the usual mission on my mind, _Josh_ has to go and totally harp on my case! What's his deal? You know, if he were a _good_ boyfriend, he'd _sympathise_ with me."

"Boyfriend?" Monique asked. She had returned to working on her dress, sewing up something by one of the off-shoulder sleeves. "You two are still going out?"

Kim frowned, curious, "Yes. Why, did you think we weren't?"

"Wasn't sure, really," Monique admitted, "I guess I thought you might have pulled out after Ron went under."

"Why would I do that?" Kim's reply was barely a whisper. It sounded like she was really asking herself.

Monique shrugged, still looking intently at her sewing. "I don't know anymore, your life is so messed up. Really, I don't know _where_ you are, Alice."

Kim woke from her stupor and shot Monique a look, "Like I _so_ needed you to tell me that, thanks."

"But you like Mankey, right?"

There was a pause.

"Kim?" Monique stealthily swept her eyes over to Kim and saw her looked hard at the floor in concentration. Sucking in her lips, she tried again, "But you're _happy_ with Josh? For boyfriend material, IMO, you should be happier with him than when you were with Ron."

"What!" this earned Kim's attention, her head snapped up immediately.

"It's true, don't you think?"

"How… how could I _possibly_ be happier with Josh than I _ever_ was with Ron? I've known him for _years_, Monique, in case you forgot."

Monique laughed, "Kim, time has nothing to do with happiness." Her tone went more serious, "Doesn't it make sense that the guy you like should be the one you're most happy around? Does to me. If you liked being with Ron more, then what are you doing with Josh?"

"Sometimes, I don't know anymore," Kim admitted, pushing her slipping self back onto the stool. "I think it's safe to say I'd rather have Ron with me than Josh. I mean, there _was_ a point… not so long ago… only for a brief time… that that had been true."

"Why'd it change?"

"Cos Ron was a total _jerk_ to me," Kim grumbled, but then hastily added "But not on purpose! He thought he was doing the right thing, but I hadn't known it back then, so then I went all Josh again but I wasn't really happy even though I thought I was and then Ron went in the coma and now I'd rather have him and Josh is, like, sooooo boring and sooo rude to me and now I don't even know _why_ I'm with Josh anymore because now that I think about it what will I do when Ron awakes!"

Monique was staring at Kim with wide eyes. "Breathe, girl! _Breathe!_"

"Now that I think about it, what's going to happen when Ron awakes, Monqiue?"

"Have a party? Take him to Bueno Nacho?"

"I mean, _about Josh_."

"You're torn between them," Monique smiled cattishly. "You _like_ Ron and you _used_ to like Josh but now you're not sure who you like."

"Exactly. I'd ask for both, but I don't really want Josh at all."

"Then what _ARE_ you doing with him?"

"You think we should break up?"

"It's what I'm saying," Monique shrugged.

"But I can't."

Monique arched her slim eyebrows, "Oh? Tell me why not. And please, use periods in your sentences this time."

"I… I need to be with Josh still. Like, let's pretend, in some magical way, Ron won't wake up and I already said no to Josh. It'll look _so_ way past lame if I crawl over to him. He might not take me back."

Monique had a looked of disbelief, "So… you want to compromise?"

Kim sighed, "Relationships were _so_ much easier when it was just me and Ron. This sitch makes the stuff going on during our hand-holding look like cake."

"Well, you _are_ the one who dragged Josh into this."

Kim cast her head in the other direction without responding.

"I can advice you, but I can't make decisions for you."

After a long pause, Kim finally murmured, "And what is your advice?"

Monique smirked, " 'Follow your heart'."

"Corny much!"

-ø-

November had rolled in, bringing with it the chilly air and the mark of a full month since Ron had fallen into his comatose state. A lot of time had passed for Kim to think on what Monique had told her weeks ago, although she still hadn't come to a conclusion. But their teachers _had_ come to a conclusion on their end of term projects, Kim having wrapped hers up weeks ago. They had also sent out report cards that day. It was that fine, chilly November day that Kim's report card was safely in her backpack to bring on her visit with Ron.

As Kim walked in her Club Banana jacket, (the one she received when exchanging the green leather one Ron had given her with) from the bus stop, along the frosty sidewalk towards the hospital, she couldn't help but think it could be any day now that Ron would awaken. Of course, this was her own inner wishing at work, but it was better than being pessimistic about everything.

Her hands were in her pockets as she strolled along the street, towards the hospital entrance. She couldn't help but look around and notice every couple walking by. It depressed her that one of these couples could have been, perhaps, her and Ron, or at least just the two of them walking side by side as friends. She deeply longed for his companionship.

Already Ron had missed Hallowe'en, his most coveted holiday of all, something he treasured even more than his own birthday. Kim had always thought it was because of the free candy and costumes, but now, after spending the holiday without him, she knew why it was so special to him. It was a tradition for just the two of them to go back to the roots of their friendship, to just goof off with one another like they had when younger. No wonder Ron loved Hallowe'en. Of course, the free candy was a large bonus.

She sighed, entering the hospital, heading for the closest elevator. What else would Ron miss? Would he miss the Winter Formal in December? And what about Christmas? That was another holiday she and Ron always spent together. But no, he would awake before then, she was positive of that. He certainly had spent enough of his (and hers) time in his stasis.

Kim was riding the elevator with two other people, probably a husband and wife, (she noticed the gold bands on their left ring fingers). She also noted that they carried flowers, both looking sorely depressed. Kim pondered their sitch, even if it was a bit rude. Whatever happened and whoever they were seeing, had to be someone dear to them, just like Ron was to Kim.

_But I'm not looking depressed. That obviously means there's something wrong with one of us. Two against one, those aren't odds I like._

They arrived at Kim's floor first, she departed with a glance at the couple, but turned her gaze forwards again. While she walked down the hall, she reached into her backpack and pulled out her report card, humming the tune to the song Ron sang on American Starmaker. She had just reached the large glass windows of Ron's room when her eyes darted inside. Kim had been wanting to glimpse Ron, but instead saw someone else.

Seeing Tara shouldn't have been a huge shock, but Kim felt herself become rigid and a lump grow in her stomach when she spotted the pale blonde. Tara was sitting in the chair Kim had always sat in by Ron's bed, it almost looked like the girl was keeping a vigil, the way she sat so placidly, her head bent down.

_She's gorgeous,_ Kim thought. _It's not fair. No wonder Ron slept with her even though he was supposed to be doting after me. _Tara looked like a maiden from some faerie tale, her perfect blonde hair, her porcelain white skin, her frail, thin appearance and radiant, innocent blue eyes. Standing there and eyeing her, Kim felt like a rag-doll compared to her. It wasn't a feeling Kim had really felt before, she was normally so confident and pleased with her own appearance. _It's just because I know she likes him._

Playing with her gloved hands, Kim pondered if she should leave the two alone and go grab something at the hospital cafeteria. Kim wasn't sure why she was so nervous, she had seen Tara around the hospital before, but they usually caught each other when the other was leaving. This was a little more awkward.

_Maybe when I enter, Tara will say she's leaving._

Kim was about to test this theory, reaching for the doorknob when through the window, Kim caught Tara lifting a hand and gently placing it on Ron's cheek. Kim hissed, breathing in. That really fuelled Kim's fire, in she went.

Tara turned her head and uttered a small gasp when Kim had entered. Kim's initial attitude was to glare at Tara, mark her territory and all that, but when she saw her fellow cheerleader appear rattled at her presence, Kim halted, changing her demeanour. It was that beautiful maiden vs. rough-bold girl Kim remembered and decided if she really wanted to prove Ron to be hers, she'd have to show a bit more care.

So she smiled. "Hi, Tara, it's a bit unexpected to see you here, but I suppose it shouldn't."

"Oh," Tara flushed, looking embarrassed, "I haven't been able to see him very much lately, there's been end-of-term projects."

Kim nodded, "Oh, tell me about those!" A nervous laugh.

"But I'm pleased with my marks," Tara turned to look back at Ron.

Kim fell silent and moved further into the room, stripping out of her jacket and laying it on the plastic seats of the nearby sofa. She didn't sit though; she continued to stand, rigidly, eyeing the two of them. For some reason, she always felt inferior when Tara looked at him with those endearing eyes of hers.

_Don't fall for them, Ron. I'll be just as endearing to you again when you wake up, I promise. _

"What do you suppose will happen to Ron?"

Kim alarumed, "Pardon?"

"His marks, he didn't finish first term."

"Oh, ah, um. Not sure, really…"

"Will they flunk him?" Tara's voice rose in panic.

"I doubt that," Kim reassured, "They'll give him credit and he'll catch up. … Because I'll help him, like I used to."

"I could help him too…"

Tara didn't notice how Kim bristled. Instead, Tara fluttered over Ron again, she placed a hand by his neck, "I… I hope he wakes soon… I-it's been so long… Too long…"

Kim tilted her head, watching each movement and expression Tara gave Ron. Every one knotted Kim's stomach and made her want to disappear. It finally struck Kim that when she saw Tara gaze at Ron, Kim was looking into a mirror that showed her past. Seeing them brought back memories of how she felt towards Ron on the dock in China; she had been exactly as Tara was with Ron now. Being jealous of Tara was being jealous of that time. It only gave Kim confidence of her emotions for Ron and that she was determined to be with him again—that Tara _had to_, in some way or another, step down.

"You… really like him… don't you?" she spoke, the words choking in her throat.

Tara turned her head to look at Kim, her eyes suddenly watering. "_Yes_," she replied. "He… Why Kim? Even when he was with me, even when it was just the two of us… Kim, he was never happy!"

Kim was a little thrown off by Tara's outburst, she bit her lower lip.

"I tried so hard to make him happy, Kim. I liked him so much and I was nothing but kind to him… how..? How could he _still_ like you over me?" Tara's shimmering riveting blue eyes bore into Kim's, she felt increasingly guilty the longer Tara stared into hers.

Kim took a step backwards, sitting down on the sofa. "I don't-"

"You always gave him glares, you always made it clear to him that you didn't like him anymore! That you wanted nothing to do with him! And I… I cared for him. I was there for him and…" Tara was now crying, she coughed, sniffling. "And even when we-"

A hand flew to Kim's mouth. She knew what Tara implicated, when she and Ron… at the party… Had Ron really still thought of her even then?

Tara cast her head away, her pale blonde curls bouncing. "He always thought of you, even when you stopped glaring at him, on the bus to the Regionals… all the time—always you and never me!" The frail girl hid her face behind cupped hands, crying loudly.

Kim felt awkward but was intent to hear more, she sat fidgeting on the edge of her seat. To provoke Tara to speak again, she called her name softly.

"Ron was so open to me, but never… he would never tell me what happened to you two. I wanted to know so I could help him recover. Didn't he trust me?"

"Maybe he didn't want to move on," Kim muttered bitterly, more to herself than to Tara.

"Why not?" Tara pressed rhetorically (at least Kim hoped it was rhetorical), "Why not forget the bad and move on with the good? Isn't that obvious?" A brief silence between the three of them. "Oh… or maybe the answer is obvious," her eyes darted from Ron to Kim, then fluttered to the floor. "How can I help him if he won't open up to me? I feel like… like I've fallen into something I don't belong in…"

"Tara…" Kim began, "Ron and I… Oh, I'm sorry, Tara, I really am." And she meant it. Kim had thought she hated Tara for liking Ron, but how could she? What she saw in Tara was what Kim wanted to see in herself. Tara cared for Ron endlessly, but so did Kim, even if she showed it in a different way. "Ron and I have been such idiots, the both of us, we're both to blame. Neither of us would have willingly dragged you into this… You're right Tara," Kim's falsely strong eyes met Tara's, "You don't belong in this mess. It's because of our stupidity you're in it."

Now Kim felt miserable about Tara being pulled into this mess. She never had a chance with Ron, had she? Tara's emotions were real and they were all for naught. With this information Tara now revealed to Kim, it gave her new hope that Ron would accept Kim's willingness to change him around down the right path and not end up with Tara despite his cold look to Kim before he headed upstairs with Tara on the night of the party. Kim now knew he had slept with Tara to rouse jealousy in Kim. It was a dumb way to go about it, but it sure had worked.

Kim knew it all so well now, that Tara had been doomed from the beginning, even if Kim hadn't been with Ron twenty-four seven. Kim knew because it was the same thing she had done to Josh. Two people had been dragged into Kim and Ron's stupid quarrel, bringing their very real emotions in a not-so real argument.

_Selfish,_ Kim thought.

She realised neither said anything for awhile, so she spoke up again. "Tara… I know this is hard, I really, _really_ do but… there are other guys for-"

"Me."

"Yes."

Again Tara turned away from Kim, sitting herself gingerly in the available chair beside Ron's bed. Tara rested her eyes on Ron's fallen form, on his lightly shut eyes, his mind probably worlds away, if in existence at all. Leaning back, Kim observed Tara and again noticed that the way Tara was now looking at Ron was the exact same way Kim gazed at him.

Guilt again gnawed inside Kim, but she fiercely fought it down. Just because Tara also cared for Ron, didn't mean Kim was willing to give him up to her, although a part of her said Tara sure did deserve him more than she had as of late. And he deserved her, the way Tara doted for him. Perhaps, just _perhaps_, Kim might have given in and waved the flag of defeat, but not after what she had learned from Tara. Not that Kim knew Ron to have been thinking of her in real sincere ways even when he had Tara to satisfy himself with. He had even been thinking of her when they… maybe… had he said Kim's name?

Blushing furiously, she didn't want to go there. She fanned herself with a hand, gritting her teeth. _That_ was one thing Kim would never have with Ron, at least, not for his first.

"You and him."

"Huh?" Kim perked up, returning to reality.

"It's final. You and him," Tara repeated. "I already know he's never stopped thinking of you. Kim," abruptly, Tara whipped around to face Kim. "Whatever happened between you two… whatever you think of him, whatever you think he is… whether true or not, he likes you Kim. Truly. If you can't understand that, then understand that he likes you more than I like him."

"I-"

Tara was no longer looking at Kim, she returned to Ron. "You'll… you'll make him happy again, won't you? Heh, goodness knows I've tried. But I believe you're the only person who will ever make him happy again. I want that for him. Don't you?"

"I do."

Tara stood up, her hands cupped together. "I'm still his friend though. I still want to come visit him." Kim nodded slowly. "I know everything will work out for you two when he awakes… I'm… I'm glad he'll be happy again." Gently, Tara placed a hand on Ron's cheek, Kim gasped softly, barely audible. Leaning in, Tara whispered something in Ron's ear, what, Kim could not hear not that Ron probably had either. But perhaps that didn't matter to Tara.

Her skirt furling around her ankles, Tara smiled faintly at Kim, pulling on her mittens and nodded, then left the room. The instant that Tara left, it felt like a presence had been stolen away from the room and everything returned to the dull and glum atmosphere that was constant in Ron's room. After Tara's visit, Kim felt like her presence paled in comparison, not that Ron noticed. Now she felt like the report card in her bag was dirt next to whatever Tara had brought just by _being_ in the room.

Downcast, Kim looked down at her report cards, As all across the board. Even cooking. It was her first A ever in Home Ec class and she had been eager to 'show' Ron that all he had taught her had helped her. It was because of him she had an A-, rather than the usual _B_-. Coming to the hospital, Kim had been in a pleasant, eager mood, now she felt outshone.

"Maybe I'll show it to you later," she mumbled, and stuffed the report card back into her backpack. It was then while Kim was contemplating leaving that the Kimmunicator beeped.

Rather shocked, she reached into her bag and pulled out her hand-held device. She hadn't heard the familiar beeping tone in a long time, either the Villains were courteously waiting on Kim or Wade was understanding of Kim's sitch.

Either way, Kim put on a happy face, although somewhat confused when she replied, "What's the sitch, Wade?"

"Hey," Wade said, normal as ever, "How goes it?"

"Oh, same old…" Kim shrugged, trying to act as normal as Wade and failing. "I haven't heard from you recently. I mean, what's been up with the missions..?"

Wade winced and brandished his hands at Kim, "Lately I've been calling in on Global Justice saying you're out of commission for a few months… Oh, and by the way, they say congratulations on the girl-"

"_THE WHAT!_"

"SO they've been taking in your calls as well, you know as favours for all that you've done for them, I figured you'd need a break with all that's going on in your world," he leaned back in his chair.

"Heh, you mean because I've been failing at every single mission since?"

Wade froze, "There's that too. BUT, mainly, I'm concerned about _you_."

"Right, sure. So is there anything behind the call other than an update?" Kim questioned.

Again Wade shrugged, "Thought you might be mission hungry."

Kim sighed, "Just a bit… it's been so long."

"And long since you've actually won too…"

"_OKAY_, Wade. Even if Ron can't come with me, I still want to go if you have one ready for me, Wade. A-a lot has happened since the last mission I was on, that I failed at." Confidence crept into her voice, "I really think I can win this one." _I know I can, it'll be a test. I'm my old self again, remember, Possible? _

"Well, there's a burglary in progress in the strip mall across from the hospital."

"Wow, Wade," Kim voice dripped with sarcastic amusement, "That makes me feel special. You could have left out the where to boost my self-esteem just a _little_ bit."

"You wouldn't know how to get there then."

"Tchach," a familiar trademark smirk crossed Kim's face, "I'm on my way."

Kim pocketed the Kimmunicator and slipped on her backpack, grabbing her Club Banana coat, she paused at the door and turned back at Ron, eyes still shut. Flushing, she made a quick glance around to see if anyone was watching, no-one was, so she blew Ron a kiss before flurrying off to victory.

-ø-

Sitting on her pink chair at her desk, Kim did some last minute prepping by re-brushing her long auburn hair and checked her reflection in the black screened monitor of her computer. She bit her lower lip, still wondering if she ought to go. Kim couldn't help but wonder what Ron would think or say. No matter what Kim decided he would say, she _knew_ he wouldn't have approved. Especially if everything he wrote in her card had truly been from the bottom of his heart.

But she was all dressed and primped up, so she might as well go through with it. Ron didn't need to know when he awoke, and if he did find out, if Tara told him, she could always rearrange events and tell him she read his heart-felt card _after_ to-night. Kim didn't like the idea of lying to Ron, but even with all the comfort and assurance that _nothing_ would happen to-night, he'd still feel downcast and brood. It was simply the way Ron was... or until she distracted him with a free meal at Bueno Nacho.

Besides, she felt like she owed it to Josh. They had had _so_ many arguments since they had hooked up back in late September. It was almost every time they were in one another's company that they would depart, moody with the other, or Kim at least. As much as she felt herself slowly swinging over to Ron's side, she couldn't help but feel like a jerk to Josh. To-night, to Kim, was more of a social obligation. _And_ to make sure her status on the school chain remained high up (higher than Bonnie). After all, _all_ the popular girls attended Winter Formal in early December.

"Kimmie!" Her eyes darted to her door in the floor and Kim perked at the sound of her Mother's voice. "Josh is here!"

"I'm coming!" Kim sang back, placing her brush beside the mouse, patting her hair while giving herself one last check over in her reflection. Positive that she looked nothing less than perfect, Kim shuffled down her stairs, around the corner to present herself to where Josh and her parents stood, milling just inside the living room.

At the sound of her approach, Josh in his jet black tuxedo turned to face Kim, his expression delighted to see her in her own black dress. It was the same black dress with the high split that she had worn to the Annual Villain's Ball in September while she had donned her alias _Lady Dusk_. But this time she was not incognito, she was going as herself.

"You look beautiful in that dress," Josh complimented, nodding his head in approval.

Kim flashed him a formal smile, "Thank-you."

"Have fun, you two," Mrs Possible said.

But Mr Possible was not so genial, "Make sure you're home by ten," he added sternly.

"No big, Dad," Kim chuckled and her Mom nodded to herself as if understanding how Kim viewed this 'date'.

Josh extended his arm for Kim to take and just as she was about to, Mr Possible halted them, raising a camera. "Hang on, kids. I'd like to take a few photos first for the scrap books!"

"Sure," Josh replied, laughing happily.

Kim frowned, "Oh, um, it's ok, Dad. We can, um, we can take photos there…"

"Nonsense!" Mr Possible held up the camera, "I'll have to wait for the photos taken at the school. If I take them now I can have them printed out to-night!"

"No, Dad, really," Kim faltered, taking a step back. This earned a concerned look from her Mother and won over Josh's attention.

"What's wrong, Kim?" he asked, his voice taking a slightly darker tone. "C'mon, it'll be fun."

"We should get to the school…"

"Kim, we won't be late."

"Yea, but-"

"Say _cheese_!" Mr Possible snagged some pictures before Kim had a moment to think, the flash blinding her and giving her a twitchy eye. She tried to pose sincerely for the photo, hiding her trepidation, but it was a difficult task. She wasn't sure if she wanted to look back at these photos at a later date. Kim wasn't even sure if she wanted to see herself standing next to Josh at her Grade Twelve Winter Formal.

"There we go," Mr Possible nodded, "I'll have these ready for when you come home to-night, Kimmie. We can put them in the scrapbook together."

"Oh, oh yea, ok. That'll be fun."

"Let's get going," Josh murmured, more to himself, leading Kim out the door.

"Enjoy yourselves!" Mrs Possible called out from behind.

_Do I even want to try?_ Kim thought to herself. Josh remained silent, leading her to his red convertible and didn't speak until he had driven a far distance from Kim's house. She was too nervous to speak first, even if she was feeling slightly vexed with his attitude towards her.

"What's so wrong with your Dad wanting to take photos of us?" Josh finally said, the wind rippling through both of their hairs. Kim had to repeatedly bring her hands to her hair to try in vain to guard her hair from possible tangles.

"Nothing."

"That's a lie, Kim, and you know it."

"So what if it is?" she replied grudgingly, both hands now on her hair.

"So I thought you learned your lesson about lying."

"Where's the remote for changing the subject?"

"Cut that out."

"Whoah, _hey._" Kim turned to face Josh, her hair now whipping across her face and vision. "Ok, do _not_ speak to me like that. Don't you even _dare_." Not even _Ron_ spoke to her like that.

"What about _you_?" Josh countered. "How about you and your attitude towards me? Y'know, I'm not too fond of your tone sometimes, or how you try to boss me around."

"I do _not_ boss you around!"

"You _try_ to and when I say 'no', you get into a huff! What's your deal, Kim?"

"I don't have a deal. I'm just… I'm going through a rough time, you know that, we've had this discussion before," Kim now gripped her hair with one hand like a ponytail, facing forwards.

"The fact that Ron's in a coma has _nothing_ to do with your bossiness. You've always been like that since we first hooked up."

"Well, I was going through a tough time then too! Josh, can you just _please_ be a little less whoah to me? I think _you're_ the one being too bossy, IMO."

Josh made a sound in the back of his throat that Kim didn't approve of.

"I hate having these conversations with you," he said.

"Then don't start them."

"I start them because I want to sort out our issues!" he replied, his voice raising and incredulous. "Excuse me for wanting to smooth out the bumps in our relationship so we can finally have a smooth ride. For _once_."

Kim's eyes flew open when Josh said the word 'relationship'. Josh… he believed that he and Kim were going places. That they were going to have this relationship grow into something serious even past Graduation. For Josh, this wasn't a simple high school hook-up. Did he _really_ believe Kim was the real thing? Well, he if he was, he was certainly doubting it now. She wasn't sure if this was good or bad.

In response, Kim sighed heavily. "It's Winter Formal, Josh. Let's just enjoy it without arguing."

Kim's eyes darted onto Josh and caught him just as he rolled his eyes, she narrowed hers. "That's what I've been saying," Josh sighed. "Ok. Look. You're right. Let's end this right now and just be happy at the party. Can you live with that?"

"I was asking you."

Another estranged sound from within Josh's throat, Kim decided it would be best to ignore it. After all, Josh _was_ the one driving.

It didn't take long for Josh to reach Middleton High, indeed, Kim and Ron _did_ used to walk to school everyday, it wasn't that far from her house. Josh swerved the car smoothly into the parking lot, already filled with cars and parked easily into a close available spot.

Before stepping out of the car, Kim checked her hair again in the rear-view window, quickly smoothing down flyaway hairs and combing her hair with her fingers. Josh waited for her by the front of the car and when she joined up with him, she noticed that although he matched his stride with hers, he did not offer her his arm unlike before. She made no comment.

Together, they walked into Middleton High's gymnasium, the lights were dimmed for ambiance and unlike last year's prom, the decorations were considered classy. Students already occupied the gymnasium, mostly as couples and like Kim and Josh, all wore white and black, being the official Winter Formal colours. To the side of the gym where tables were lined there were also buffet tables, but unlike the Villain's Ball, there was no alcohol.

Looking around and keeping a generic smile on her face despite her and Josh's recent argument for Kim desired to appeal to those around her as someone pleased to be here with her boyfriend. Always put on a happy mask in company, Kim thought.

_Oh, ergh, especially with a Bonnie in the near vicinity_, Kim pulled on a brief face of repulsion as she spotted her nemesis on the other side of the gymnasium. Although Kim was some distance away and couldn't hear, she could tell that Bonnie was yelling her head off at Gil the way she flapped her arms about while Brick Flagg stood on her other side cramming his face with delights. A smile spread across Kim's face, at least something was going her way to-night.

There were other girls Kim recognised from Kim's cheer squad, none of the boys they were with startled Kim. Kim craned her neck around for Monique but couldn't find her, perhaps she hadn't arrived yet. Neither had Tara apparently, Kim wondered if she would come and if so, with whom?

"Would you like to dance?" Josh asked politely, finally offering Kim his hand. Looking around before taking his hand, Kim spotted others dancing to the music already playing. She nodded and followed his lead over to an open space on the dance floor.

As soon as they started dancing, Kim lost interest. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to be expecting, but she couldn't help but compare it to her dance with Ron at the Annual Villain's Ball. This dance she did now with Josh was so bland and common, nothing magical like with Ron and Kim felt no 'connection' with Josh either. She felt as if she had been forced to dance with some random person off the street. But she did it anyway, for Josh and for those watching.

As time passed, more and more students arrived, many more that Kim recognised from her classes. She even spotted Monique entering with a boy she had seen her chatting with before. Unfortunately, Monique wasn't able to wear her dazzling blue dress now that it was complete to the dance since black and white was the proper attire.

The slow dances had begun awhile ago, and Kim was still bored doing the usual side-to-side High School dance. She'd much rather be gliding across the gymnasium with a gentleman who could sweep her off her feet. So while she danced with Josh, to occupy her boredom, she imagined herself dancing with someone else, perhaps Ron over in that empty space. Kim glanced at Josh and pondered how he thought of their dance. Was it just as automatic and robotic for him too?

When they broke apart, Kim said she wanted a breather and some snacks (although the real reason was because the boredom was about to drive her insane). With a good-natured smile, Josh followed her over to the snack table and took some for himself. Later, a dinner would be held in the cafeteria, but being apart of the planning comity, Kim knew the normal tables and chairs would be replaced by long tables and white cloth, lights and decorations fitting for the Formal.

Walking in her heels towards a free round table, Kim spotted Tara sitting with Jason Morgan, the basketball's star forward. Kim pondered this, studying the girl as Kim snacked on her muffin.

Tara looked pleased enough to be with Jason. She nodded at him graciously, as he offered her a plate. Had she actually moved on? Already? Kim licked a crumb from her lip. Or perhaps Tara only wanted a companion for the dance. Kim didn't blame her if that was the real case. After all, Tara was a _cheerleader_. All cheerleaders had dates for the dance. Perhaps Jason was to Tara as Josh was to Kim. And the real boy they both wanted was unconscious in the hospital. Ron would have to face a number of decisions once he awoke.

After Kim polished off her muffin and took in some punch, she and Josh went to the dance floor again—Which again left Kim wondering why she even came.

Just when Kim was thinking about calling another break, Mr Barkin walked up to the mike, the DJ halted his music. "If you'll please make your way to the cafeteria in an orderly line, dinner will be served shortly." Mr Barkin's eyes scanned the students rushing towards the door. "I SAID ORDERLY OR THERE'LL BE NO DINNER."

Kim was just in front of Josh, following the herd of fancy-dressed students towards the cafeteria when she felt a hand on her arm. Her red hair bounced as she turned to face Josh, inquisitive as he pulled her aside.

"Mind if I take you aside for a moment?" he asked, "Just for a moment. Now, just in case we have another argument over dinner."

Kim gave him a disbelieving look but allowed him to guide her in another direction from the other students.

The halls were eerie without being filled with the sights and clatter of the Middleton High students like in the day time. She looked around nervously, even though she wasn't scared. She'd just been a bit thrown off by the sudden detour, Kim wasn't sure what Josh had in mind. Not that she doubted him like _that_, even if she didn't get along with him, she knew he wasn't capable of something on, say, an 'Australian' compared scale.

Josh continued to lead her, but Kim took her arm back during the walk (her feet were a bit sore from the walk after the dancing). Eventually, it hit Kim that he was leading her to the art room.

Once inside, Josh walked past the wooden tables were the classmates usually sat and drew, past the easel boards and teacher's desk and towards the back walk-in closet where art projects and materials were stored.

"Wait right here," Josh told her and Kim took a seat on the dusty sofa. As soon as she sat down, the sofa swallowed her.

She waited for Josh to return, when he did, he was carrying a large square something covered in a white cloth. Kim had a notion what lay underneath. Josh propped up the undercover painting.

"You wanted to show me a painting?" she asked neutrally.

"Yea," Josh grinned. "It was my end of term project, but I kept it here until the Winter Formal so I could show you since you didn't get to hear my song on Hallowe'en."

"What do you mean?"

"This painting, it's for you."

Kim blinked rapidly, feeling stunned. "F-for me?" she murmured.

"Yes, here, wanna see?"

Josh gently pulled the white cloth off of his painting, revealing his artwork to Kim. At first, Kim had prepared herself to force a joyous and pleased response, but when the cloth had been pulled off, Kim felt her mouth slip ajar. She furrowed her brow, looking hard at the painting, double checking that it wasn't the lighting. No, her eyes were working.

"It's… uh…" Kim stuttered, still frowning at the painting.

"What?" Josh asked. There was that worry in him, hidden behind a thin mask of pleasant-demeanour. "Don't you like it?"

Kim opened her mouth, but said nothing, further studying the painting. It was… well, it wasn't very attractive; it certainly wasn't one of the words Kim would use to describe it. It wasn't… _bad_ per say just… not very attractive. It was all in shades of murky browns and ruddy greens, very drab, almost like it had been dumped into a swamp. There was an image of the world in the upper left side of the painting and a girl who Kim assumed was supposed to be some version of herself on the right, looking like she was going to lunge at the world, her back arched backwards. Kim vaguely recognised it to be her, someone had to tell Josh her hair was _auburn_, not… that disgusting shade of brown-green.

Browns and greens were nice colours, Kim thought, there were so many colours that could accent them and Josh hadn't chosen those colours _at all_. He was an _artist_ didn't he know these colours weren't pleasing to the eye? Certainly if he wanted this colour scheme, he could intense them, or make it all brown, like an old painting, maybe throw in some yellow ochres or liven up the greens. But this…

"This… is for me?" Kim double-checked.

Josh was staring at her weird again, Kim didn't like it. "Um, yes. Ok, what's wrong _this_ time?" he crossed his arms.

Kim narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her own. She stared at the painting. _The colours make me wanna puke. No, it LOOKS like puke._ "Well, I don't mean to criticise, but, Josh, what in the world gave you the ideas to use these colours? Like, the concept is ok but… Josh?"

Josh shook his head, "I thought you'd like these colours."

"_Excuse _me?" Kim didn't know if she should be offended by that remark or not.

"Kim, I did this painting especially for you. First you don't even want to hear the song I wrote for you and now you're dissing my painting that I spent all my energy into. I thought of _you_ while I painted it. It's for my end of term project-"

Kim coughed into a fist, "Didn't get a very high mark for that," she muttered.

"I got an _A_. Kim, you're so picky all the time. I can't stand this anymore!"

"What? You want 'honesty'," she used air quotes, "Don't you? And that's my _honest_ opinion."

"You could have acted just a _little_ bit pleased, at least because I _did_ something for you. Excuse me for thinking of my girlfriend. I'm not sure if it is the colours that's your issue with the painting, maybe you just like to criticise everything."

"I do _not_. Josh, that's mean-"

"Don't interrupt me, Kim. I _know_ you just have some problem because I _know_ you like these colours. Ron even _told_ me-"

"_How DARE you!_" Kim hissed, staring at Josh in horror, "How _DARE_ you use Ron like that! That is an _absolutely_ low blow, Josh!" Kim's voice was incredulous, "How dare you use Ron's name like that to get to me! Ok, Ron _knows_ my favourite colours, which are, by the way, pink and green. You think it's ok, just because he's in a coma and doesn't know what you're saying, but that… that is just… I can't believe you did that."

Josh was speechless and slack jawed.

Kim thrust a finger at Josh and felt her emotions teetering inside her. "I don't like the way you talk about Ron," her voice was firm and yet unstable, "Ron is _very_ important to me and he always will be! The fact that he's in a coma doesn't change anything."

"Anything, Kim?" Josh countered, "Like maybe any _feelings_ you had for him before he went into a coma?"

"What are you _talking_ about? Don't change the subject on me!"

"Just what I've noticed Kim. Photos, how you talk of him, how he talked of you. I don't even know why I'm here anymore. Sometimes I ask myself why I'm wasting my time on you."

" 'Wasting your time on'! Is _that_ what you think of me? All this time!" Kim took a step backwards.

"No, Kim, actually, not. But now I am. Now that I've gotten to know you a bit better, I can't say we're too compatible. You try to boss me around, you get cranky if I don't do something you want, you jump to conclusions _way_ too easily and you _always_ have to be right. Those aren't qualities I can deal with forever, I'm not sure how Ron could take being with you."

Kim quieted down. She didn't like it when people spilled out her faults. Well, when Ron had in the swamp, it was different. He was Ron. He was allowed to, he _deserved_ to. But when _Josh_ told her… Different story.

"Maybe it goes both ways," Kim said, lifting her chin high. "Maybe I don't like how you try to throw a blanket around me and keep me down. You don't let me be who I _am_, I feel like all you want me to be is some dumb little doll at your side-"

"I'd never-"

"-You even negged my missions. If we carried this on further, I have a feeling my missions would be a deal breaker for you. And what about when Ron awakes, huh? Could you deal with me spending time with him once in awhile?"

"Maybe you'd want to spend more than just 'once in awhile'."

"Maybe I would."

"Kim," Josh closed his eyes, then opened them. "Wanna know what I think? I think it's over."

Kim froze.

"You. Me. It's over. I can't take this anymore, if this is what our relationship is going to be like all the time, then I just really don't want it. I don't want to be arguing with my girlfriend all the time. I think it's the best for the both us when I say it's time for us to separate."

Kim was still stunned, she hadn't moved an inch. "Y-you're breaking up with me?"

"Yes, I am, Kim," Josh confirmed, his expression unreadable, "Unless you can prove to be more of a mature person, I said it, it's over. _We're_ over."

"I am mature, Josh, you just can't seem to understand me." _Only one person did, and hopefully I'm the only person who understands him._ "Actually, you never even did, even when you saw me from afar years ago. But now that we've gotten to better know each other and able to pin non generic words to each other, then you're right. We aren't very compatible, are we?" Kim said, "So, fine. It's over. Fine by me."

-ø-

Whizzing through the night air, something clanged on Ron's hospital window before clasping onto the outside sill. No-one inside the room heard the winding sound of Kim's grappling hook as she pulled herself up the five story height from the ground below to Ron's hospital room window in her high slit dress. Her grip firm and her wrist muscles tightening, she let go with one hand and quickly reached out for Ron's window, lifting it open to crawl inside.

The crawl wasn't so grateful, but you couldn't really blame her in those fancy dress high heels, she was able to covertly roll from the window floor over to Ron's bed peeking out from the side to spy any late-working nurses wandering the halls. They could easily turn and glance into Ron's room through the mid-wall-to-ceiling windows and witness this strange night-time visitor. No-one to be seen, Kim placed her grappling hook/hair dryer on the other bed stand and stood up, smoothing the wrinkles out of her dress.

Rufus was sleeping, as usual nestled safely by Ron's neck. To see Ron with someone always at his side caused a smile to creep across her face. Reaching out, she brushed Ron's hair with her hand, bringing his bangs sweeping forwards like how he liked his hair style to be, he could be so fussy about it.

Looking around, Kim spotted a chair in the corner. Kicking off her noisy high heels, she padded over to the chair, picking it up and placing it beside Ron's bed, tucking herself in close. She took Ron's hand in hers and rested her head on the edge of his bed, silent.

They remained so for quite some time. Kim didn't care: she had all night if she wanted. It would be so convenient for Ron to wake up then, she would be there for him, just the two of them in surrounded darkness. In her mind, she played this scenario, how Ron would awaken, blinking into the world once again, his hand in hers. He would call to her softly, befuddled in suddenly being brought forth to the world again and she would be there, this time, to respond. Ron would probably be startled to see her by his side so devotedly, but he would show his surprise mildly, after all, he had just awakened from his coma. Kim would laugh softly, soothing him with soft gentle sweet nothings and he would soon be reassured, especially with Rufus by his side. All would be perfect again.

But of course, Ron chose _not_ to awaken. His eyes were closed as they always had been when Kim lifted her head to regard him. She rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb, as if to egg him out of the coma.

It was December already and Christmas was just mere weeks away. If Ron didn't wake before then… then it would be Kim's first Christmas without him since the age of three. That wasn't right. She wouldn't even be able to survive _Christmas Eve_, she'd be so depressed for his company.

Kim desperately wanted Ron to have Christmas with her again. How he'd come over, they'd watch some reruns of Snowman Hank, exchange gifts, stay up and join in the Possible Family Christmas traditions, and how he'd always spend the night, the two of them staying up to the wee hours of the morning until the sun rose out her bedroom window. How could she go through all of that with Ron still in a coma at the hospital? If there was any way she could bring him back right that instant, Kim would take it in a split second.

"I'm here for you," she murmured, barely a whisper. "It's ok, it's all ok for you to come back from hiding."

When he didn't respond, Kim flung her head into her arms and the clean-smelling sheets of Ron's hospital bed. She moaned in recollection of what had happened with Josh. But she didn't want him back, she wanted Ron.

"Oh, Ron…. I need you so badly right now…" she murmured, reaching forwards and taking Ron's still hand in hers. She shut her eyes tightly, only feeling intensely distraught when she felt no grip in his hand as she held his.

"I should have broken up with Josh ages ago… I shouldn't have even dated him, Ron. I'm so stupid, I was just using him to replace you when I should have just kicked him to the side and been _with_ you. I shoulda picked up that you were only confused… you didn't do those things on purpose-on purpose—On purpose to make me like you, not to _hurt_ me. Oh! Can't you just come _back_ and we can settle everything right now?"

No response.

"Ron…"

Burying her head once again to hide herself from the world, Kim inched closer to Ron, never letting go of his hand. She gripped him hard, clinging to the only person she had ever had. How horribly she had just jumped to conclusions and let this one person whom she devoted her entire life to then to have him slip from her world.

_Never again_. She thought insistently. _Not now, not ever._

She wished something would happen: a movement, a sound from his throat, _anything_. Kim looked to his life support and watched the little green line resonate steadily on the graph. _Still alive_… she thought. It was better than nothing.

If only there was _something_ to wake Ron. _Something_ she could do rather than sitting on her behind, idly wishing for him to return overdramatically like some pathetic love-sick traditional woman. That's how she felt about herself. Kim was a pro-active person. When something was wrong, she _did_ something about it. Verbs, her favourite were action words. She'd do anything to help him, even if whatever it was took years, at least she'd be _doing_ something about it. But Wade couldn't help; there was nothing yet that anyone created in all her years of missions, no scientist, no matter how demented or world famous could awaken Ron.

The only person who could awaken Ron was Ron.

Why didn't he choose this? Was something blocking him? Was he doing it on purpose? Did he have _any_ sense of himself whatsoever? Or was it like that stage from when you fall asleep until you dream, just… flat out non-existence?

"Come on, Ron… If there's anything I could do to convince you…"

Hitting her head on his bed, she groaned. How many more times would she be sitting by his side, these same thoughts repeating over and over in her mind? Laying her head on her side, she continued to lightly stroke his hand in hers, feeling the call of sleep settling over her.

Kim just _might_ have fallen asleep right then… _if_ she hadn't heard the sounds of approaching feet. Startling, she hissed, reaching for her grappling hook on the bed stand, she dove down, hidden behind the right side of his bed. Listening intently, she heard the voices of what she supposed were two nurses. She couldn't make out any words… at least, not until the door to Ron's room opened.

Gasping, she kicked her high heels on the floor under his bed then rolled under herself and felt the dust tickling her bare legs. The grappling hook in both her hands, holding it like a weapon, Kim eavesdropped on the two nurses.

"How's his vitals?" One nurse yawned, sounding as if she was struggling to swallow it.

"Good, good," the other responded, her mind clearly elsewhere. "Same as before."

"How many more patients after this one?"

"Two more, then we can catch up on the paper work."

The second's reply was dry, "Fun." Her reply made Kim smirk, it sounded as if this second one was a young new recruit being taught the nightly rounds.

The other nurse, probably writing down Ron's stats, said nothing so the second continued. "How long has this one been in a coma?"

"Ummm…" the other said, "It says in his folder."

Kim's eyes trailed the feet of the young nurse as she walked from one side of Ron's bed to the front, she could hear the shuffles of Ron's folders.

"Hey, hang on," the second nurse said, "_This_ is the one in room five-zero-five?"

"Yup."

More sounds of folder shuffling, probably being placed back into the holder at the end of the bed. "But he's so young. Kinda cute, too."

The other sounded irritated and yet wryly amused, " 'Young' and 'cute' doesn't matter to the health department."

"Are you sure though?" the young nurse continued, "I mean, that he's the one. It's barely been three months."

"Positive," the other said, "They phoned in this morning."

_Phoned?_ Kim thought to herself curiously. _'They'..?_

"Phone, huh? Thought it'd be something they'd come in about."

"I'd have thought so too, but apparently they're very busy people."

"Makes sense," the other muttered under her voice.

Kim hid in her spot, struggling to mute her now frantic breathing. Those 'busy people' who phoned in had to be his parents, but what did they phone in about? And what about the 'barely been three months'? Kim did a quick calculation and was correct in Ron's stay at the hospital had been almost three months. Kim did not like the direction of this conversation.

"But you know how it is," the first one went on while shuffling some files Kim could only hear. "It always comes down to the money. If they can't afford it, then what are they gonna do?"

"It's not right."

"Well the hospital isn't going to pay for it."

"Heh, no kidding," the other one gave a coarse laugh.

"So who is? No-one, that's who. Three months barely _is_ a short time, but if you have no money, you have no money. Life support isn't cheap."

Kim's eyes leapt wide open.

The other asked sullenly: "So when do we pull the plug?"

"A week."

"What a pity… what a pity."


	6. The PreRescue Mission

Thanks to reviewers: louise88, evilreader, Vigigoth29527, Louis Mielke, qtpie235, Jaweklik, Nakasumisan, Forlong, loser7, Bruce, CPO3, Gryffinrose, Classic Cowboy, chao-hellsing, peacepop, mattb3671, Ace Ian Combat, Masau, Becca, Sonnenschein, Dr. Cube, crazyboutbooks, RonWeasley22284, RamaFan, BrattyBrina, knuckz, JPMod, nessa92, demon-sword, John Steppenwolf, Dragonslayer527, KK, Charlene and Loo (greentext books are SO your downfall).

note to reveiwer zipporahvulcan: sorry, I have no idea how to fix your problem. Try going to the dropdown 'Menu' and click on 'FAQ/Help'.

* * *

¤ Instalment 06 »» _The Pre-Rescue Mission _¤

What if I'd cried my eyes out and begged you not to depart?

But now I'm not afraid to say what's in my heart.

-Koda Kumi, _'1000 Words_'

* * *

"But they're going to _KILL_ him, Mom!" Kim cried back tersely, her hands still shaking in her lap. 

She sat on the chesterfield in the sitting room, still in her elegant black dress from the Winter Formal she had cut short. Her parents weren't thrilled with Kim for going all the way to Upperton and then breaking into the hospital this late at night, but it was obvious before scolding her, they had something else a tad more important to deal with.

As soon as Kim had burst through the door in a fluster, her parents had rushed to her alarum. Kim told them everything about what she had overheard the nurses say concerning Ron all while still in a frenzied state about just hearing the news herself.

"Kimmie…" her Mother's voice was overwrought, "I told you, there's nothing we can do. It's not a decision we can control."

"But it's _Ron_! Dad," she turned her head, appealing to her Father for a different, more helpful, answer.

Sombrely, he shook his head, agreeing with his wife. "It's his parents call. If they don't have the money to pay for his life support and the hospital won't pay for it…"

"Damnit, they _have_ money!" Kim shouted. "Ron's room is _loaded_!"

"Kimmie!" her parents gasped in unison at their daughter's language.

Kim knotted her brow, increasing in frustration. "But… it's Ron…" she repeated, "_My_ Ron, they can't take him away from me! They don't have that kind of power!"

"Honey," her Mother said sweetly, placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Ron is their son; it's their decision, not ours. It's not a decision any parent wants to make, they're probably just as distraught as you are."

"That's not true," Kim retorted stubbornly. "You know they didn't even come in to see Ron when they told the hospital? They _phoned_! What kind of parents do that!" she demanded, "They never wanted him, Mom! They're just taking advantage of a way to get rid of him."

"Hold your tongue!" Mr Possible announced, clearly in horror of Kim's breech. "You can't say those things about Mr and Mrs Stoppable, you don't know."

"I've seen," she snorted back, glaring in the opposite direction. "How could they do this to him?" she muttered, "Just because they don't want him doesn't mean someone else might not."

Mr and Mrs Possible could only gaze at their daughter helplessly. Nothing they said, no logic they appealed would make Kim accept and they both knew it. They could try all they wanted, but they knew Kim was too shattered to accept this horrendous decision. Not only that, but the two parents really were truly stunned at Mr and Ms Stoppable's decision, they too thought Ron's parents would surely keep their son on life support longer than this. They were also devastated for Kim, they knew that loosing him first to the coma was bad enough but now with… for the length of time that Kim and Ron had been together, it would definitely put her in shock; they both saw this from a psychological point of view. She was probably in shock already.

But as they told Kim, there was nothing they could do.

"Can't you talk to them?" Kim asked, "Can't we help?"

"We'll see," Mrs Possible murmured and took her daughter's hands in her own. "Cheer up, we'll find a way out of this, we won't let you loose Ron."

"Remember," Mr Possible added, "Anything's possible for a Possible!"

Kim smiled faintly, casting her head down, "I'll remember." Tears slid down her cheeks. "I'm going up stairs to retire for the night. See you in the morning, love you, Mom. Love you, Dad."

"Goodnight, Kimmie-cub." Her parents stood up and embraced her before allowing her to retreat upstairs.

Once she was upstairs, Kim lingered, standing just in front of her closed floor door. She wavered, not sure what she was doing anymore. Downstairs she had just given in to her parents and had lost her fighting spirit, that and she was far too exhausted from the initial shock. Besides, she shouldn't harass her parents, unlike Ron's parents, _hers_ cared.

Kim closed her eyes, the conversation of the nurses replaying in her mind. Ron would be dead… they'd kill him. Kim clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, it wasn't _fair_! Ron was still alive! There was still a chance he could awaken! There was still a chance he'd return to her.

_They can just SO not take Ron away from me. We still have STUFF to deal with!_

Then that thought hit her. What if they did pull the cord? What if Ron died without ever knowing that Kim had read his letter? That Kim _finally_ understood why he had done the things he had. She couldn't let that happen, she thought, suddenly beyond distraught.

And this was _HER_ Ron! Who were these people who thought they could take control of him? Ron belonged to _Kim_, if there was any decisions to be had concerning Ron, then _Kim_ would make them.

_How dare they!_ She thought, unjustified and felt like someone and just overthrown her. _Then we'll run away_, she thought defiantly. Although she still had kinks to work out, like how she would sneak Ron _and_ the life-support out of the hospital to some unknown isolated country without anyone realising.

There wasn't any way Kim was going to be able to sleep to-night, she swallowed hard, still thinking about Ron.

_Execution!_ She thought. That's what it was! They were going to execute him! _Murder!_ _It's murder to kill someone, and that's illegal, they can't do that to him!_ _He's _still_ alive, he's living. He's just waiting for the right moment to awaken… or he's lost, maybe confused. Maybe he can't yet, maybe he's been trying to…_

"Aah," Kim let out a small wail and threw herself onto her bed burying her face into her pillow, more tears rolling down her cheek. She clutched her pink pillows, her grip so tight, her veins were visible.

She had gone the longest time ever in her entire life without Ron, nearly four months and now she was being forced to face the rest of her life without him. All this time when Ron had been in the coma, Kim had forced a happy mask on herself, gluing it to her face and mind. It was so unbearable inside sometimes to be without Ron. At night, she would feel the ache again, the desire to just be standing _near_ him; it literally felt like a surging force within her. Kim had to be with Ron, the feeling was so passionate, this need to be attached to him once again.

It was starting again, this feeling.

Kim rolled onto her back and discovered she was crying and sobbing. Crying, she lifted a hand to her face and forced away some tears then gripped her chest where the pain and longing for Ron pulsated.

Kim remembered when she had cried here for Josh when their hands had been attached. She was so immature then, she thought. That stupid cry fest for someone she didn't even know, but this… this was real. Kim felt tears trickling down her cheeks and felt the salty taste of them run into her mouth.

"Ron," she sobbed and rolled over again, delving into her misery and cries once again.

It was a long time, deep into the night, when Kim calmed down. Of course, she hadn't recovered, but at least she was done the tears. For now. Rolling to the side, she hauled herself off the bed and tottered dizzily over to the Kimmunicator beside the computer where she had left it before going to the Winter Formal.

Walking softly back to the bed, she sighed as she leaned against the headboard and flicked on the port to Wade.

"What's up?" Wade yawned.

"Wade… do you know how much life support costs?"

Wade's eyes widened and he gave her a curious look. "No, but I can find out. … Why?"

A few tears escaped Kim's eyes. "Wade… they… Wade, we _have_ to do something, they're going to murder him!"

"They're _what_!"

Loosing control, Kim sobbed again, bringing a hand to her face and cleaning away some tears that were clogging her vision with the back of her palm. "I was at the hospital and his parents, they're so dumb! I hate them! They're going to pull the plug on him! They're going to kill him! Wade… I, I can't live without Ron…"

"Okok, c-calm down," Wade informed, struggling to keep his own voice steady. "What exactly did they tell you?"

"They didn't tell me," Kim admitted, "I overhead. This one nurse asked 'when do we pull the plug' and the other said 'in a week'. A _week_, Wade! A WEEK! If Ron doesn't wake up in a week, they're going to kill him! And… and… and I'll never be with him again and I just can't live like that."

As Kim told Wade all this, he furiously clacked away at his keyboard.

Kim swallowed some more tears, "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Research," Wade replied grimly. He leaned back in his chair, evaluating something on the screen. "I see. I hacked his file and you're right. H-he is going to be pulled in a week. I don't get this—It's barely been three months!"

"I told you," Kim replied, snarling, "It's his parents, they just want to get rid of him! I heard what she said about him once, she said 'all you do is cause more trouble'! His Mom said that _to_ him, Wade! If they don't want him, then I'll take him gladly, he can live with me. They have no right to do this!"

"Actually, they do," Wade said morosely.

"I _know_," Kim snapped, "My parents already told me that, like, a _thousand_ times, ok? But I'm not going to let them do this. I _won't_. Wade, do you know anything about smuggling life support into other countries?"

"I'd rather not go that far if we don't have to," Wade replied sourly.

"A _week_!" Kim went on, "We have to do something _now_! I can't loose him. We only have a week and he'll BE _DEAD_. _DEAD_, WADE!"

Wade closed his eyes, thinking as Kim returned to crying. "Kim, I told you before, there's nothing I can do… I mean… To bring someone out of a coma, no-one's invented that yet. I've been working on it this long… I doubt I'll get something within a week."

"_Anything_, Wade!"

"I'll work on it," he replied, "That's all I can do. Kim, I promise, to-night, I'll be up _all_ night long looking for an answer. I'll look everywhere and anywhere, explore every venture. We won't loose, Ron, ok?" Kim still looked downcast and doubtful. "Hey, look, we may have lost one member of Team Possible temporarily, but there's still us and we are capable of bringing him back. We just gotta extend our brains a bit."

Kim looked down at Wade on the Kimmunicator, his eyes gleaming with fierce hope. What was she doing being so doubtful? That was supposed to be a Ron thing. "I trust you, Wade."

"I'll contact you to-morrow, no matter what happens." He chuckled softly, "Even if we have to have you elope with him still in the coma and smuggle you and his life support into some South American country and have you two live in the Amazon after having plastic surgery, we'll figure something out."

Kim laughed, "Thanks, Wade. You always rock."

"I'm going to keep that title when the week's gone," he winked and blipped out.

Allowing her hand to droop, Kim leaned her head back on the headboard and closed her eyes. _Ron, I won't loose you. I'm doing this for you. I'll fight for you even when there's nothing left._

Sighing, Kim left the Kimmunicator on her bedside drawer and pushed herself off the bed, the high slit of her dress pulling back and revealing her legs as she stood on her bare feet. She walked with a little less confusion towards her screen. _I ought to change into my pyjamas, even if I probably won't get any sleep. _Then in the corner of her eyes, Kim saw Ron's bags still in the corner where she had left them.

_That's right, I never returned them, did I?_ Curiously, she padded over to his packs and sat down on her legs, pulling them both over. She sat there staring at them when something came back to her. Gasping softly, Kim unzipped a pouch of Ron's school backpack and pulled out…

His keys.

Needless to say, a smirk crept across Kim's face.

-ø-

It wasn't breaking and entering, Kim told herself. After all, she _did_ have keys. After changing into her blue sleeveless vest with the hood, brown pants and pocketing the Kimmunicator, she snuck out her bedroom window and walked down the streets to Ron's house with his backpacks. If Mr or Mrs Stoppable asked what she was doing there, she had an alibi. But of course, it wasn't her goal to be seen by them.

Already inside the darkened household, Kim crept softly, peering all around, using her mission skills. When Kim had approached the house from outside, she had noticed that all the lights had been turned off. But from the various missions she'd been on, she knew not to take that for granted.

There was no-one in the living room nor anyone in the kitchen as she crept past, heading towards the stairs. Constantly keeping on alert, eyes wide, ears perked, Kim kept a hand on the white wall as she stalked up the stairs. Before stepping into the upstairs hall, Kim kept low to the ground, looking both ways. Again, no-one. Kim turned, heading for the room at the very end of the hall. Quietly, she slipped into Ron's bedroom.

Sighing with relief, Kim dropped his bags onto the floor and flicked on the light. She had wondered what state his room would be in, it had been so long since she had visited his room. His room was still fairly clean, everything appeared pretty much how it had previously. Wandering forwards, Kim flicked on the light to Ron's red/pink lava lamp. She had bought it for him for his birthday one year long, long ago. Ron had eyed the lava lamp every time they passed the store in the mall. When she had given it to him for his birthday, he had been positively _thrilled_ which had made Kim glow at the time, it hadn't been particularly cheap. In return, he had bought one for her (why didn't he just buy it for himself in the first place? Kim had always pondered), "Now we match!" Ron had said gleefully at the time.

As the lava lamp hummed and the goo morphed and rolled in the liquid, Kim turned to notice Ron's large rich blue comforter on the floor, kind of in a heap. Kim would have thought it to be tucked into the bed, perhaps in a mess there. Walking over and picking the heavy blanket up, Kim made his bed and smoothed out any wrinkles once she was done.

The reason Kim had come to Ron's that night was to claim some objects and mementoes before his stupid parents threw anything out. She could have done it the following day, but she had been too antsy to wait, unable to sleep. Kim walked over to Ron's dresser and glanced at her face in the mirror, she was still a bit red from crying; she pulled at her face sticking her tongue out at herself.

Looking around the mirror above the dresser, Kim smiled to see all the familiar stickers and photos pinned all around. She recalled when they had set that up the day Ron had been given his new dresser. They had bought magazines and sat on his floor, listening to music as they cut things out, pasting things around the mirror. Kim found photos of the two of them at various ages in their life and funky stickers. Some of them Kim remembered from sticker machines at the mall, Ron had asked her for some quarters for the stickers and had bought her one with her own money as a gift. Kim frowned, while Kim's stickers lay in the bottom of her desk drawer back at home, Ron had hung his up. She wondered if he noticed this about her whenever he came over. Kim promised to herself that she would hang them up later.

Ron's dresser table was clean, but things were still askew. There was the usual stuff, a comb, a bottle of spray water, deodorant, even a pair of scissors. There were a few gaming magazines on it too. Kim placed her hands on the top drawer and pulled it open. She found other usual items, nothing she saw that she wanted to keep. A box of band-aids, some sheets of stickers, some more magazines, an old textbook even. Looking back at the mirror, Kim thought she'd probably keep some of the decorating photos since she couldn't take the stickers, even if she already had copies of the photos.

The other drawers only held clothing like formal wear and pyjamas. Moving on, Kim sat down in Ron's swivel chair in front of his computer. While she booted it up, Kim noticed his stack of textbooks and opened the desk drawer. Pens, pencils, paperclips, a stapler, white-out, staples, hole puncher, paint brushes, lead and clips. There were also some flyaway note papers. Kim picked these up and read them. All were old memos or codes he had written down for video games.

At the computer, she spent a lot of time, shifting through his files, making copies and sending them to her inbox or uploading them into her server.

As usual, Kim found nothing out of the ordinary for Ron, but that was to be expected. Besides, was she hoping to find something new or scandalous? Biting her lower lip, she logged onto his online journal to see if he kept any entries hidden from her like she did to him. But no.

_Wow, Ron. Nothing about our hand-holding? Nothing shocking like the letter you wrote? Not even anything about Tara?_ There she expected to find _something_. She shut-off the computer once she double-checked everything and headed towards his closet.

There was something there she knew she wanted to keep. Shuffling through his articles of clothing, Kim grinned when she found his favourite shirt. The one he wore practically everyday and felt most comfortable in, the red jersey with the navy sleeves. This, she would keep. She also discovered his mission outfit, his skates, one of their favourite board games (she'd keep that too) from when they were little, a box of old sports cards and a pair of rollerblades.

The last place was over by his bed. She dashed over there, leaping onto his bed and bounced up and down. Swivelling around, she browsed his row of DVDs, one there she'd keep. One they always watched when she came over that they actually _both_ enjoyed for once. She pulled it off the shelf and onto the floor.

Closing her eyes, Kim laid down on Ron's bed, his pillow wrapping around her head. How many nights had Ron slept here in torment over their silly feud? How many times had he cried? Turning over, Kim laid a hand on the pillow, looking at it. Had this pillow collected his tears like hers did? Breathing in, Kim closed her eyes and gasped. The bed, even after all this time, still held his scent and it was so wonderful to Kim to take it in again.

It caused her to cry. Slipping herself under the sheets, she wrapped the comforters tightly around herself, snuggling herself deeply into his bed. It was like feeling his warmth again, being with him and snuggling close even if he really wasn't here. She clung to the sheets of his bed as if clinging harder might actually bring Ron to her. Her teeth chattered and she continued her long, good cry.

When Kim slowly ceased crying and poked her head out of the sheets, she noticed it was still night. She wasn't even sure if she had fallen asleep or not, her sense of time during her crying had left her. She rubbed the sheet with her hand, looking at it distantly with glazed eyes. Would this be the closest she'd ever be to Ron again? If this was the last of Ron then Kim wished to sleep in this bed every night. The intoxication was far too great and Kim no longer desired to leave his bed.

She was about to snuggle herself back in and perhaps actually fall asleep for the night when she realised there was still one last place to look. Her eyes widened.

His drawer.

His _bedside_ drawer.

Kim wriggled out further and propped herself up with a hand, staring at the forbidden drawer. Last time Kim had been in Ron's room, the boy had been fiercely adamant that she _not_ go into his drawer, there was something in there he didn't want her to see or know about. Kim's eyes darted to his pillow, then back to his drawer. If this was the last of Ron, then she deserved to know what was in there.

Sitting up and reaching forwards, Kim yanked Ron's drawer out entirely resting it on the space on his bed in front of his pillow. Kim sat back, beholding the infamous drawer before her. Her eyes swept the contents and she bit her lower lip. _Ok, Ron, what deep, dark secret are you hiding from me..?_

Flexing her fingers, Kim dived in.

Shuffling at the left side, Kim found a ruler and some gaming magazines. She flipped through the magazines, making sure there were no papers caught in between. There were a few, but they were all code memos for his video games. When she was done with those, she pulled them out of his drawer and placed them on the space of bed next to her. She would search the drawer until no item remained.

On the right side of the drawer were cards. Tilting her head, Kim found past birthday and other holidays (and occasions) cards. Kim flipped through them briefly, they were all from her. _Was this what you didn't want me to see?_ Kim scoffed, hoping it wasn't so. _I still have yours in my drawer._ Kim tapped her chin with a thin finger and decided that the secret was something else. Placing the cards on top of the pulled-out magazines, Kim shuffled through more contents.

She found a few bookmarks, a flashlight, an old list of books he had read for some school reading program, a package of pens, a stray pencil and an old sticker. Sighing repeatedly to herself, she was about to just give up and assume it was the cards when she found something else. Something she recognised.

It was that tin that Ron had when they were eating pizza at the airport while waiting for the O Boyz to pick them up. _The tin of mints,_ Kim recollected and pulled it out of the drawer. _He had eaten a mint from here but refused to share with me. If I remember correctly, he was also acting kinda weird too at the time…_ She h'mm'ed and inspected the tin.

Now that she was able to inspect it up close, it didn't look like any mint container she knew of. There had been something previously engraved on the top but Ron had apparently scratched out whatever it had said with a key or something. _Now _that_ screams suspicion, _Kim smirked.

Sticking her tongue out, Kim pulled the circular lid off the tin to view its contents, placing the lid down in front of her. Inside were the mints. They were circular, white and flat. Kim picked one up and eyed it closely. These were no mints.

_It's medicine. No mints have numbers and stuff imprinted on them._

But what kind of medicine? What for? Was it prescribed?

She remembered she had the Kimmunicator with her, Kim could conveniently contact Wade, have him scan one of these strange objects and probably immediately tell her what they were for. But she wouldn't do that.

_It's bad enough with me snooping, I shouldn't bring Wade into this. I can figure this out on my own._

So she pocketed one, there were a lot left so just in case they were able to rescue Ron and he went back to this tin, he wouldn't notice anything amiss. Perhaps later she could ask a scientist or perhaps her Mother, she was a doctor.

Kim held the tin in her palm, staring down at the pills, still unable to put them back now that she had discovered them. _What are they _for

It could be nothing, it could just be… well, not vitamins, but… No, this was what he had been hiding from her. Especially how weird he had acted when she had claimed she wanted one at the airport.

Frowning, she picked up the lid and was about to place it back on when she spotted something she missed before. There was a sticker or some sort of paper stuck to the inside of the lid. It wasn't a word she knew but it could probably help her discover what the pills were for. Looking into the drawer once more, Kim pulled out a memo pad and that stray pencil (she grimaced at the bite marks) and wrote down the word, pocketing the memo for later. Glancing at the clock, it was late and she had better catch some rest.

Wade said he would alert her in the morning and in case he discovered anything, it was best if she well-rested before that.

With reluctance, Kim placed the tin back where she had found it along with the rest of the contents and then finally the drawer back into its slot. She walked over to his light switch and turned off the light keeping on the warm, quiet glow of the lava lamp.

Rolling into the sheets once again, Kim's mind contemplated intensely. With the red light of the lava lamp casting on to her furrowed features, her mind searched for an answer to Ron's pills while her eyes continued to grow heavy.

They never had any secrets between each other in the past. The fact that he never told her about the pills could mean one of two things. One, it wasn't a big deal and she was fretting over something that could be as simple as sleeping pills or two, the secret was going to be a _huge_ drama.

Feeling the weight of sleep pulling her under, her last thoughts were:

_What are you keeping from me?_

-ø-

Kim was up in a flash in the morning, Ron's comforters and sheets furling around her as she struggled to fight them off and reach for the Kimmunicator that had awoken her. She had been so tightly wound up in the sweetness of his sheets that it was now like a labyrinth to sort through to free at least _one_ arm. Frustrated, she twisted and squirmed finally reaching the Kimmunicator on top of Ron's bed stand where she had left it the night before.

"What's the sitch!" she demanded, eyes still baggy from sleep deprivation.

Wade barely even noticed as he grinned from ear to ear. "I've got some interesting news."

" 'Interesting'?" Kim asked, "Not 'good'?"

"Better than 'bad', don't you think?"

"Agreed, tell."

Wade sucked in his breath and glanced at his computer screen, "First off, I have to say _thank-you_ for rescuing that scroll from Monkey Fist back in September and then allowing me to scan it."

"What?" Kim repeated thickly, pushing herself up so she sat with her back to Ron's head board, sheets still up to her chest. "Why are we flashbacking, Wade?"

"I was going through _everything_, Kim. _Everything_ for _something_ when I stumbled across the old scan of the manuscript you rescued in China. I admit… I got a little sidetracked and had the impulse to translate the script; it was written in ancient Chinese, hard stuff… for a scholar. But for me? Half an hour."

"Ego tripping?"

"Okokok," Wade laughed, continuing, "Thing is, it's given me a _huge_ step forward in saving Ron."

"Enough with the anticipation, _please_! I'm begging you!"

"Ok, so… do you remember seeing two _amulets_ near the display case of the manuscript?" Wade asked tentatively.

"Oh, um," Kim thought hard, grimacing. "It was long ago, Wade, the monkey ninjas came almost instantly. But… yea… I think there were. Some sort of jewels, I'm pretty sure. They glinted from the moonlight cast from a window, I remember."

"Congratulations, Kim, you just won a trip to China! We need those amulets."

"For..?"

"Here's the deal: warning, it's Mystical Monkey Power related."

Kim rolled her eyes, "Isn't it _always_?"

"In the manuscript, in explains how to use those amulets, what they're for. If it wasn't Mystical Monkey Power related, I'd dismiss it as nonsense, but we all know that MMP is _far_ from nonsense."

"_I_ remember. Believe me, _I_ remember."

Wade elaborated, "So it says that the amulets were used for… as I can best translate, linking two people."

"Linking?" Kim asked sceptically.

"They were used when a warrior with Mystical Monkey Power chose a mate. During the 'honeymoon', I guess we'd call it, they'd wear these amulets for one night only to 'connect' to each other. With them, it's another step of taking vows. It was believed if they wore those amulets and were linked through their power and thus they would be together for life, even when the Mystical Monkey Power warrior was far away in battle or something."

"Okaaay," Kim nodded slowly. "And this helps Ron hooooow?"

"Don't get your hopes up but theory is one thing, doing something for real is another. We can link you and Ron with those amulets, because it linked their _minds_."

Kim still wasn't getting it.

"But that's not just enough," Wade explained, "That only puts you too on some sort of connected mental ground. We need something else."

"To do _what_?"

"Kim, don't you get it? There's nothing on the outside that can bring Ron out of the coma. What's going on is what's _inside_ his mind and he's obviously not pulling out. You're going to have to persuade him to wake up."

"You mean…"

Wade nodded slowly, their eyes locked. "That's right, Kim. You have to go into his _mind_."

"His _mind_!" Kim astonished, gasping. "H-his _mind_-mind? Like… can you do that!"

"Since Ron has Mystical Monkey Power, I think the amulets will work."

"But what else do we need? You said there was something else?" Kim's own mind was reeling and she tried to hold it still with one hand.

"Remember a couple of years ago? When Ron and Zita were stuck in the world of Everlot?"

"…" Realisation dawned on Kim, "No way…"

"The amulets is what will connect you and Ron together, the Emerson Cap is what will actually pull you into his mind."

Kim leaned back, now clutching Ron's sheets. "You can _not_ be serious," Kim shook her head numbly, still trying to accept this. "I… I have to go into his mind and rescue him… What's a mind like? How do you find him?"

"It'll be an adventure," Wade shrugged, then more seriously he added, "It's our only solution, _if_ it works."

Kim nodded slowly, not even aware she was doing so. "His mind… Wait, I don't have to… like… the amulets…"

"Huh?"

"Like… I don't want to marry a guy in a coma, right?"

Wade burst into laughter, almost falling out of his chair. "Aah," he sighed, wiping away a tear, "Don't worry, Kim, you don't have to marry him to make the amulet work!"

"Just making sure…" Kim muttered, looking away from Wade and blushing intently.

Wade's laughter slowly died away. "If you get the amulets, I'll have the Emerson Cap ready by time you come back to the hospital."

"Deal," Kim smirked.

"Get changed, Kim," Wade smiled. It was just like old times! "There'll be an airplane ready to drop you off at a harbour in ten."

"I'm on my way!"

-ø-

Arms crossed and pouting, Kim stood with her weight to one side dressed in her mission clothes. It sure had been a long, _long_ time since she had worn these, but oh, how it felt good to be in them again and on a mission. On the airplane ride to the West Coast, Kim couldn't help but marvel and how wonderful the feeling was inside to be out and about like before. Of course, she did miss Ron chatting to her or complaining. But it'd be ok. He'd be with her soon. Going to China to pretty-please ask to borrow precious, ancient amulets from a Museum on another continent? No big!

However, presently Kim wasn't too pleased. The boat that was _supposed_ to give her lift to China hadn't arrived yet. In fact, it was now almost an hour and a half overdue.

The wailing cries of seagulls over Kim's head warbled as they glided on the thermals above her, circling in and out of the fiery sun in the clear blue sky. The intense salty smell of the ocean flared Kim's nostrils along with the smells of oil and smoke; she tried to wave away the flagrant smells with a gloved hand to no avail. She was stood to one side beside some shipping crates, and watched the large boats come in and out of the harbour, looking for her ride. It was growing wearisome with no Ron at her side for entertainment.

Fed up, Kim pulled out the Kimmunicator and grouched at Wade. "Ok, Wade, what's the sitch here? We're loosing precious time. I _don't_ think my ride's coming."

Wade turned from her and clacked at his keyboard at his computer. "Ooo, yea, I see."

"See, what?" Kim arched an eyebrow.

"We better get you there another way."

"A _fast_ way here's to hoping."

"Ok, fast, but… different."

Kim did _not_ like the look on Wade's face.

"How?" she prodded, the eyebrow still arched.

"Well… do you see that shipping boat to your left?"

Kim looked to her left and beheld the most hideous shipping boat she had ever seen in her entire life.

"And… you gotta kinda… get _on_ the boat… but… say… not let anyone see you?"

"Stowaway!" Kim yelped.

"Shhhh! Keep your voice down," he cautioned. "Not 'stowaway' per say, but rather… 'ninja-stealth'."

Kim looked up with repulsion on her face as she eyed at the old, grimy, rustic shipping boat still being loaded with cargo.

Loftily, she replied, "Just so you know, that's one point off your rock score."

Even after diving into the disgusting, oil filled ocean water of the harbour and using her grappling hook to heave herself through a port window and hide away in a cargo room with tons of heavy crates, Kim had sweltered in her hideaway. As the boat rocked steadily from one side to the other side, the room she was in heated mercilessly and as she had sat there, she sweated grotesquely, panting for air. She had laid down, feeling like she was stuck to the floor in her sticky sweat. Hour by hour by god-forsaken hour went by and Kim hid there, never roaming, never risking being caught. Kim honestly didn't know exactly how long she had been on the boat. It had definitely been hours, but could it possible have been days?

What it _had_ been was _hell_. She was glad Ron had not been with her. The poor boy would have been purely distressed, she imagined. Confined places plus Ron did not make for a happy equation. At least she could tell him she suffered on her journey to save him.

She was glad _that_ was over with.

Currently, she stood before the very museum that she and Ron had been at months ago. It was here that she had had a revelation. It had been in the swamp after Ron actually stood up for himself, and then she had another revelation once again in the tree truck in some random tree in the forest across the swamp. Hopefully, this mission wouldn't turn out like that.

Easily, Kim scaled the red wall that barricaded the museum and ran swiftly and covertly towards the main building across the lawn.

As soon as she was just a little more than a couple of feet on the grass, Kim gasped as laser alarum lights sprang up in a mismatched grid across the lawn and Kim was caught, unable to move lest she sound off the alarum. Obviously, they had finally installed some new security since the last break in. _Chilly for you, bully for me and yet… it's _so not the drama

Lifting her hands above her head, clapping them once then springing from her spot, Kim leapt gracefully into the air, swerving her body towards a small space with room only for her palm as she bounced there then pushed off to another spot just big enough for the tip of her toe. Her balance didn't even waver as she twirled on her toe in a new direction, spying another gap in the laser for her to land. In the air once more, she twisted her body straining to meet her goal as she now began to worry that she hadn't given herself enough lift. But she made it barely and soon bounced her way across the rest of the yard.

When she reached the other end, she dusted off her hands, eyes closed and proudly thought, _No big!_

Still smiling at herself, Kim waltzed up to the front door and knocked several times. She waited pleasantly, occasionally cupping her hands to peer into the glass to see if anyone was coming. Surely if they upped up their security, there should be a guard watching the camera on the main doors. Again Kim rapped hard calling out a greeting. After awhile, she came to the conclusion that no-one was going to come.

Shrugging, she instead walked along the edge of the museum. She didn't need to contact Wade this time about a passage into the building; she still remembered where the grate was. The walk was short and she spotted it, pulling out her grappling hook/hair dryer from her backpack.

Taking aim, the hook exploded out of the canon and latched onto the wall above the grate. Pulling the retract button, Kim whizzed upwards, at level with the grate. Like before, she attempted a vicious kick to pummel open the grate. This time, however, it did not budge.

"Aah... uh-oh…" Kim muttered as she tried several more kicks. "Okaaay…" She whizzed down, landing once again on the pavement, looking up and studied the grate.

Clicking the hook back into place in her hair dryer, she shot it out and this time latched to the grate. She pressed down on the retract button, but this time instead of allowing herself to be pulled up, she yanked hard backwards with a grunt and the grate tore from its bolts, flying into the air, the bolts clattering to the pavement.

Kim whipped her head around and looked at the still lit laser grid covering the grass then at the grate still whizzing through the air: _it would land on the grid and set off the alarum!_ Swiftly, Kim bounced off the museum wall, curled herself into a ball, twirling in the air and grabbed the grate, landing _right_ on the pavement just in front of the grass covered in the alarum grid.

_Now this is fun_, Kim smiled, hopping back over to the open grate, dropping the cover. Pulling herself up into the grate with her grappling hook, Kim began the crawl into pitch darkness.

The fit wasn't comfortable for Kim like before, she clambered with difficulty, a flashlight to guide her way in her teeth, shinning the path in front of her. At least it was easier then before, last time she had had Ron attached to her. She grunted and struggled to wave fly away hairs out of her vision, crawling on her stomach. Panting, Kim reached the end and wondered if she'd have to attempt the same trick with this grate as she did the outside one. It'd be more difficult since the grate was actually on the other side. But after doing some well-deserved kicks, the grate gave way. She assumed they only felt the need to upgrade the outside ones. Kim was grateful.

Panting she pushed herself out of the grate, tumbling none too gracefully onto the plateau above the museum exhibit. No wonder Ron didn't like grates, being in his company, she had never taken notice of how excruciating difficult they were to manoeuvre in. After all, where would the two of them be if _Kim_ started to complain? Someone had to be the backbone of the group.

Pocketing her light and patting her hair back into place, Kim shuffled on her knees to the edge of the plateau to peer over, her heart was racing, just below would be the amulets and then Ron…

"Wharearetheamulets!" Kim blurted out loud, her palms were on the ground and she leaned over the edge of the plateau precariously, anxiously straining to spot the missing amulets. Her heart thudded against her rib cage as she surveyed the exhibit before her over and over again, her eyes scanning for the amulets.

"Where are they!" she cried out again and leapt off the plateau, lighting onto the ground. She raced up to the case containing the familiar manuscript and peered all around it as if they were hiding behind.

"Noooo, nonononoNO!" she wailed. She ran all around the room, searching every case over and over, trying to find something that wasn't there. She jogged back to the manuscript in its case and noticed that the case had taken a beating.

_That's new_, she thought. _The glass completely shattered last time, someone since then had been trying to break it open._ Regaining her calm head, she looked at the scratch marks on the case at eye level.

"Ok, Wade," Kim said when she pulled out the Kimmunciator. "What's going on here? _Where_ are the amulets?" Kim held the Kimmunicator so Wade could survey what she could see. "_Please_ tell me they just relocated them to another room."

"Hang on," Wade murmured, not looking eager in the least. He was busy at his computer for a few moments, the face he pulled didn't relax Kim.

"I'm guessing 'Bad News'?" Kim retorted.

"Um, awhile back, Monkey Fist came and stole the Monkey Amulets… he tried to get the manuscript but-"

"Yea, yea, I see; case wouldn't break. So where is he now? Alpine Lair?"

Wade shook his head, "England Manor."

Kim sighed heavily, walking towards the plateau and reaching into her backpack once again reaching for her grappling hook. "At least it's on the same land mass… I guess. Got rides?"

Wade smiled wearily, "There'll be one ready to pick you up."

"A fast ride, I hope," Kim added, "I need to get back as soon as possible, Wade, we're running out of precious time and-"

"Hey, Kim? Chill. Don't worry, I'm on it. Just do what you have to do. And, Kim… might I add your ride is ready to pick you up outside?"

"I'm there!" and she back flipped down the hall… just because she could.

-ø-

Kim parachuted from the jet, the air roaring in her ears as she glided down, riding the thermals in her blue and yellow squirrel suit. Through the blue tint of her goggles, Kim could see Monkey Fists' English Manor below coming up fast. Just in there were the amulets Kim needed to rescue Ron. _This should be easy_, she thought. Tucking her arms and legs together, Kim whizzed down in a dive, the Manor's highest tower coming up fast. As soon as she passed the Tower's needle, Kim flared out her arms and legs, the wings of her suit catching the air slowed her down and she glided easily into an open window.

She rolled in and hid behind an old dusty desk, peering around just to make sure there wasn't anyone in the room. But like she had guesstimated, no-one was. Standing up, Kim stripped out of her squirrel suit, and knelt, stuffing it into her backpack once again in her mission gear.

"Kay, Wade," Kim spoke softly into the Kimmunicator, walking towards the only door in the room. "How do I know where the amulets are? Is there a trace you can pick up?"

"No."Before Kim could send him an icy cold glare, Wade added with a mocking shrug, "But I'm guessing their in his room where he keeps his Mystical Monkey Power collections."

"Good guess," Kim smiled.

"Good save," Wade arched his brows at himself, "Let me pull up a map for you."

"Please and thank-you"

"Happy treasure hunting!"

The next thing Kim saw on the Kimmunicator was a map of Monkey Fist's manor, the floor she was on, the room she was in marked in red. Kim clicked the buttons on the Kimmunicator, switching through the different maps of the floors and came to the collector's room showing up in red. Clicking buttons and looking at the various routes, Kim now knew the room she was to find was a long way away some floors down.

_Well, better start now._

Apprehensively, Kim turned the loose, rustic doorknob and peeked down the corridor. Discovering the room she was in was at the end of the hallway, Kim left the room going the only way she could. She doubted she'd meet up with anyone (or anything) in such a secluded area of the Manor, but experience told her never to count her ordered Club Banana clothes before they arrived in their packages. A hand on the wall beside her, Kim kept close to it as she watched where she walked while keeping an eye on her digital map.

She passed closed doors and descended down spiral staircases. The entire Manor was dark, mild, dull blue in tone. There were no windows, the only light was her laser flashlight pulled out once again. She was now on a soft red carpet, passing more and more doors, hearing nothing.

The paintings she passed, shinning them in the light of her flashlight, near the tower were of men and women she had never seen before. But as she descended, she noticed the paintings began to change from portraits, to simian paintings. Obviously Monkey Fist changed the décor a little when he had inherited the manor.

Kim knew a lot about her foes and was pretty sure Monkey Fist lived in this manor alone other than his legion of monkey ninjas and valet. But were there other staff about? What about butlers, maids, cooks, servants, maybe slaves? Kim had only been to his Manor once and had seen no sign of any of those kinds of people. But still, she knew servant staff were pretty discreet and it wasn't her goal to run into any that day.

Kim didn't check the time on the Kimmunicator, but she was positive it had been over an hour before she finally reached the collection room—and without any run-ins either! _I might actually make good time_, Kim thought. _But I still have to get back to the hospital… and my continent._

In front of her were two large oak doors in a deep almost crimson brown hue, the light from a towering, floor high window behind her casting it in an eerie glow. Continuing to stare at the dual doors, Kim pocketed the Kimmunicator into her belt pocket and knelt down on the carpet, pressing an ear to the door. She heard nothing on the other side.

With circumspection, Kim grabbed one of the steel knockers and pushed the door open slowly, it creaked as she heaved it open. The sound would give her away if anyone was already inside so she ended up leaping into the room instead of peeking in obtrusively as initially planned. In a defensive stance, Kim's eyes swept the room stealthily and discovered she was alone. Releasing the tension in her muscles, Kim decided not to flick on the light in the room. She closed the door behind her and swept the room instead with her flashlight.

"Wow…" she murmured.

The room was _immense_, as such indicated by the giant doors guarding it. Gazing upwards, distracted by something glittering above her head, Kim beheld a _chandelier_ above Kim's head in the center of the room! Gasping, Kim realised, noticing another set of double doors at the other end, that this room must have once been a ball room. Perhaps it had been altered when Monkey Fist inherited the family's manor. Could no other room in the entire household provide room for all his monkey collections?

There were tables in aisles, Kim walked down the first one on the left, looking into glass cases at all the different artefacts. She couldn't help but wonder how many of these had been stolen nor how many men had mysteriously vanished when 'Lord Monte Fiske' made a prestigious monkey related discovery.

Looking around in true awe, Kim passed bookshelves and read a few of the spines, not too surprised when they all related to monkeys. Inside cases she passed were other kinds of jewellery, necklaces and rings with monkeys engraved on them, some looked like solid gold to her eye. There were statues too, Kim shone her light on. Statues of monkeys in various poses, sitting, standing, looking like they were about to attack, they unnerved her and she shivered. _Not feeling welcome here at _all

The statues were in various sizes, some small, some larger, one so large that it sat on the ground and still towered over Kim. Kim couldn't help but stop and stare at that particular one.

The stone monkey was massive, it sat on its legs, its disturbing clawed fingers flexed and curled. It bore sharp, dagger-like fangs, its face twisted into unrequited fury. The expression on the large monkey's face was so realistic despite it being carved from stone that it gave her goosepimples. Her eyes scanned the monstrosity, darting down she spotted the plaque, it was in ancient Chinese, but there was a card in English resting between its broad feet: _Stone Guardian_ it read.

Rattled, Kim pulled away from that one, walking by it fast. _No wonder Ron fears monkeys,_ she thought darkly to herself while looking at all the paintings and tapestries hanging above her head. She turned her head back at the monkey statue she had just passed. _If one of _those_ attacked me too, I'd be pretty seizureous around them myself._

Checking in every case she walked by, Kim shone her light, trying not to become sidetracked by all the monkey-reverence around her.

After walking down the third aisle, Kim almost walked right past the amulets. She backed up rapidly, shinning her light into the case. The twin amulets glittered in the light cast into the case saying their cheerful hullos to Kim.

_There we are…_

Her heart surged inside of her and that desiring feeling of being close to Ron thudded inside of her again. _Soon, soon_, she told that feeling. _We'll be with him soon..._ Oh, how she couldn't wait for 'soon'! Anxiously, Kim studied the case, seeing if there was a way to rescue the amulets without shattering the case. Didn't look like it.

_Guess I'm gonna have to smash this baby open._ Kim wasn't too appealed by the idea. Looking around, Kim wondered what she could use to smash the glass, hadn't she passed a monkey shaped candelabra about? Back tracking, she found one and trotted quickly to the case withholding the married amulets.

Gritting her teeth, Kim held the candelabra back, rearing it to smash the glass open when right at that moment, a sound-shattering shrilling shriek _burst_ through the air and earthquaked Kim's own beating heart.

"Aaauughgh!" Kim cried, her knees buckling underneath her, although she did not fall to the ground.

Looking up quickly for the source of the sound, Kim squinted as another shrill monkey cry rang all around her, rattling the cases and shaking the jewels and diamonds hanging on the chandelier above her.

Gasping, Kim took a step backwards, appalled as the massive monkey-beast statue with the barred fangs leapt from its pedestal and thudded onto a table, crushing a case, glass shattering and cutting its feet. It was no longer made of stone. Yes, it was _very_ real indeed.

It glared at Kim, its eyes bloodshot and shrieked again, once again barring its palm-length fangs at Kim, showing her how easily it could tear into her flesh and rip open her heart.

"Ok, I'm _so_ glad Ron isn't with me!" Kim blurted out and immediately back flipped onto the table behind her, dropping the candelabra.

The monkey shrilled and leapt from its table to another, books crushing under its weight.

"Monkey Fist isn't going to like that!" Kim teased back, now running along the table, trying to avoid the monkey. She had no plan as of yet.

As if in retort, it let out another blood-stopping cry as it raced down its table with far more speed than Kim would have guessed it to have.

_No wonder there was no security beams!_ Kim scolded herself as she bounced of the wall and curled into a ball, soaring over the massive monkey-beast's head as it leapt onto the table that had been between the two. Kim landed on all fours on top of a bookshelf against a wall. _There was a guard in here all along, I _should_ have known that!_

Choleric that it had not been able to pluck Kim out of the air as she had soared overheard, the monkey-beast took a huge leap and jumped over one table, landing on the one against the wall behind Kim on the bookshelf. It ran towards her, Kim having no idea where to go. When it did move from its spot where the monkey landed, Kim noticed it had crushed the golden necklace, snapping it.

_I can _not_ let it even get _near_ the amulets!_ Her mind raced, if it crushed the twin jewels then there would be no hope of rescuing Ron. There would be no way to link Ron's mind to the Emerson Cap, no way to connect her to Ron, to 'tell' the Emerson Cap that she was to be in Ron's mind. These jewels were her only hope!

_But I also gotta figure out how to _stop_ this beast!_ She leapt-rolled into the air for the monkey-beast had reached the bookshelf then with one swing of its wrecking ball arms, it smashed the wooden shelf in two, books, papers, scrolls and vases smashing and flying all askew.

_Maybe I can run the course of the room_, Kim contemplated as she ran along the table against the wall, leaping over statues and running on top of glass cases that the guardian monkey smashed as it bore towards Kim, hot on her trail. _Can I wear it out?_ She wondered. There had to be something better though, there had to be, surely it would take long to wear out _this_ enraged-fuelled beast.

Before she reached the end of the table, Kim spotted the other set of double doors. Her eyes flickering back to the amulets, Kim wondered if she could take the fight outside. _I don't want it to catch me but if I put too much distance between us, it might decide to take a short cut or suddenly get smart and crush the amulets!_ It was her best bet, but then she remembered how _heavy_ the doors had been. Kim glanced behind herself and saw the snorting animal, eyes lit with apoplectic fire behind her, fangs gnashing; there was no way she could open the doors with that thing so close to her. It would tear her to shreds before she even _tugged_ on the door.

_Nrgg… think, Possible, think!_ _Too bad I don't have Ron…I know he'd freak and might go into _another_ coma just from _seeing_ this thing, but maybe his Mystical Monkey Power could kick in and deal with it that way._ Kim had always thought herself to be the leading person in their group when it came to fights, but that night when she had actually_ seen_ his Mystical Monkey Power put to good use… well, it floored her. Ron could do so much that… _That I _can't

_No!_

_But I _can_. I'm Kim Possible,_ she growled at herself. Self-doubting thoughts were apart of the past, remember?_ I can do anything. I may not be able to beat this thing as easily as Ron's Monkey Power might be able to, but I can still do it. In my own way._

With those thoughts empowering her, Kim instantly looked up and saw the chandelier in the middle of the room and grinned, her thoughts forming rapidly into a plan of action.

The obvious plan was to lure the monkey-beast underneath the chandelier, leap onto the chandelier then cut it crashing down on the beast, but she couldn't do that. The 'right underneath' of the chandelier was much too close to the amulets for Kim's comfort. There could be absolutely _no_ risk into harming those jewels, she _needed_ them. Instead, Kim worked on a different, altered, plan as she ran on the tables, the monkey-beast gaining slowly as she lost speed in her thoughts.

A plan came to her. It would require the quickest of actions and a lot of it was guess work on what the monkey-beast would do, but the plan was, at the moment, the only plan she had. Behind her, the monkey-beast was far too close; it was about to swipe at her when she picked up speed towards the front giant oak doors where she had entered.

Conveniently, there was a mirror at the end of the wall to the left of the doors so that Kim could keep an eye on the monkey-beast behind her. Kim leapt the gap from one side table to the other between the doors; the monkey-beast did not. As she had noticed from before, it would run on the ground _then_ jump onto the table.

As soon as it touched the ground on the space between the tables right in front of the doors, Kim bounded, leaping high into the wall then bounced off the wall above the monkey-beast's head as it shrilled and shrieked money-obscenities at her. Spreading out and soaring, Kim _just_ managed to grasp the chandelier. It swung violently with her weight, a few of the diamonds slicing Kim's cheek.

When she had completed her trick and swung on the chandelier, wishing it would stop rocking all around so she could pull herself up, the monkey screamed at her. It pounded the ground angrily with its fists, dents forming in the carpeted floor. There was no way it could leap up there, even if it attempted the same trick as Kim, the beast wouldn't make it. It was far too heavy; its leap would never carry its weight through the air to the distance of the chandelier.

Using the swaying motion to aid her, Kim flipped herself backwards onto the chandelier and stood up, hanging onto the thick cord holding the expensive and classy lighting source to the ceiling. She helped it to sway, creating more and more momentum as if on a swing.

At least the monkey-beast was dumb, Kim was thankful for that. It hadn't deduced her plan yet. It probably thought she was taunting it from being well out of reach. But she'd finish her plan in a few moments, just in case its intelligence was a little slow-moving that day.

_More, more_, she thought, swinging the chandelier into a controlled backwards and forwards motion, helping to further its distance. As she did, she pulled out her red laser, still clutching the cord above her. It was a good thing she had a laser and not a knife. A knife would never cut through this metal cord.

Pointing the laser at the ceiling, Kim flicked it on. She had to time the cutting of the cord _just _right or it wouldn't make it. _Not now…_ her mind raced as she calculated, _but don't wait too long—_

_NOW!_

Kim leapt backwards off the chandelier at the highest point of its forwards swing and as she did, she sliced the cord with her high-powered laser. With a little smoke, the laser slipped through the cord, slicing it cleanly. As she had planned, the chandelier came crashing down on an angle towards the monkey-beast. The last Kim heard from it was a blood-scorching shriek that shattered all of the glass within the room, including the case the amulets were in. Although Kim did not have time to see, the chandelier had crushed the monkey-beast against the door it was backed against, the diamonds slicing its skin, arms, legs, chest… and throat.

Kim was still in the air, falling backwards. The laser light fell out of her grip and dropped into her pants through the gap, not caring about that, she promptly reached for her grappling hook and tried to shoot it into the ceiling but the cord still attached to the ceiling was continuing to swing around wild and uncontrollable, it knocked the hook aside. Eyes wide as she saw this, Kim fell, smashing her back and head into the oak doors on the opposite end.

Kim groaned, slumping to the ground, the grappling hook slipping out of her limp hand. Her head swimming, Kim fought to keep conscious and as she did, she heard the sound of pounding feet. Although she guessed it was coming towards the sound of the crashing chandelier, the actual sounds of the feet sounded, to Kim, as if they were slowly diminishing.

Kim felt the oak door to her right open and barely, just barely, Kim glimpsed a tall figure in black run into the room, all the way to the other end of the ball room. She wasn't sure who it was, perhaps it was Ron. Her mind reeled and the black on the figure seemed to swarm her vision, beginning to cover everything she envisioned.

_Is that you, Rufus?_ Kim was able to think as multiple creatures surrounded Kim on the floor. _Tell Ron I… tell him I fought that beast… and won… he'd… be proud…_

And then she blacked out.

-ø-

Chitters and chatters filled Kim's ears as she slowly came to, moaning and attempting to shuffle a numb arm up to hold her head. Shuffling, she shifted onto her side, lying down. She groaned at the sounds of the monkey chatters around her, the sounds worsened her headache and she frowned again. Kim's eyes were shut and she tried to open them cautiously, not knowing where she could be.

Her sight was blurry as she opened them, blinking them wider and wider every time. Finally her vision adjusted to her surroundings, but she still wasn't able to have them open fully, Kim was still too sore.

As she lay where she was, Kim thought back to what happened before she blacked out. That's right: she had fallen off of the chandelier and smashed into the oak doors. Upon reflecting, she didn't think she had smashed herself against the doors that hard, but she must have been mistaken if she actually lost consciousness.

There had been that monkey-beast, but she was positive _that _thing had been settled with when the chandelier had come crashing down, although she hadn't had actually seen if the beast had been pinned beneath it or not. So…

The amulets!

Kim sat up in a flurry, worsening her headache and trying to widen her eyes to what was normal. With fraught, Kim rubbed her eyes with her gloves and looked around herself.

She sighed. She shouldn't be too surprised. Hadn't Kim seen figures before she blacked out? Of course, Kim was in a cage. She was captured.

Kim groaned—this groan was more out of frustration than by grogginess. Kim sat up, crossing her legs. Looking up, the cage wasn't high enough for Kim to stand in. Pulling herself to the bars of her cage, Kim peered out and found herself in the same room she had seen years ago on the video feed that Wade sent her. It was Monkey Fist's hidden lair behind the main lounge fireplace.

Peering out, Kim spotted familiar monkey ninja warriors sitting on various items in the room. They were talking with one another in their monkey language, those that weren't were glaring at Kim, watching her every move.

As Kim looked around, she saw the staircase to the lounge. Light was shinning down so it was probably open. Kim also saw the black oriental screen on the dais and then in front of Kim in the center was the vast open space for practicing Tai Shing Pek Kwar and the imprint for the Mystical Monkey Warrior painted enormously in black on the floor. There were no windows down here; the only way to escape was through that stairwell.

But how could she break out of the cage? And where was Monkey Fist? Wherever he was, Kim wanted to be out of here before he came back.

Looking down, Kim tsked as she found her belt and backpack gone and spotted them by the stairwell where they must have been dropped.

Kim shut her eyes, thinking. _I've nothing with me, how am I supposed to break out of here?_ Kim shifted herself, backing up so she could lean against the back bars of her cage. As she did, she felt something pressing against her skin by her ankle. Had a rock fallen in? _But _when

She felt the something in her pants by her ankle and gasped softly. Her eyes darted up, looking at the monkey ninjas watching her.

_My laser! It must have fallen down my pants when I jumped from the chandelier! Finally, something's going my way!_

With lightning-quick speed, Kim grabbed the laser out of her pants from her pant leg and tossed it into her right hand, leaping forwards on her knees. Kim switched on the laser and sliced through the lock. The instant that she did, the monkey ninjas shrieked, alerting the rest of their prisoner's escape.

Kim leapt up onto the top of the cage and cringed as she did. Her back was still aching from when she had smacked into the door, that and her head still reeled from her fast actions. _Gotta ignore that_, she thought hastily as the monkey ninjas bounded towards her. _At least _these_ I can handle… ish._

The closest were upon her, leaping for her, but Kim flung them off. One clung to her arm as more swarmed her legs, and the others attempted to punch her in the stomach. Kim didn't stand still, as she danced about, evading their attacks, she smacked the monkey clinging to her arm into the wall and it let go. She then tried to kick and punch the rest but then more swarmed her and soon they would bog her down. Kim jumped forwards, stepping on one of the monkey's forehead for lift and bounded off the wall behind her, leaping across all of their heads.

Unlike the monkey-beast from the collection room, these monkey ninjas were lithe, quick and light. Skilfully, they ran after Kim as she headed for her backpack and belt on the floor and she scooped them up as she ran up the stairs. While she looked down to hitch on her belt and slip on her backpack, she slowed down and three monkey ninjas leapt forwards, two on her back, one clinging to her leg.

"Augh!" Kim cried as one tried to cover her eyes with its hair hands. "Gross me out, ew! Have you washed those!" she cried as she ran up the stairs blindly, tripping on every second step.

When she burst out of the hidden lair, Kim collapsed to the ground, but not before crushing the two on her back beneath her as she rolled on the ground, the one around her leg let go as it cried out in pain. But its brethren were still chasing Kim and she had to be quick.

_Where's the collection room from here!_ She asked herself. Trying to avoid the monkey ninjas, she leapt onto the fireplace and pulled out the Kimmunicator that was in her belt pouch, bringing up the map of the manor. Promptly, she studied the map and pocketed the Kimmunicator, leaping from her spot _just_ as seven monkey ninjas jumped down to where she had previously been.

As Kim fled down the hall, they monkey ninjas didn't give up the chase, they shrilled, chattering and screaming at Kim. Kim gasped, noticing that more were joining their groups, coming out through rooms and halls, some of them appearing just before her. She had to swerve violently to the side to avoid them smacking into her like a bug on the window shield otherwise they'd bring her down.

_Ohhh, how I wish Ron were with me _now_. With his MMPower, we'd be leaving these things in the _dust

Kim ran full force, her legs sprinting, as she heard her pursuers pounding the carpet inches behind her. Kim groaned as three leapt onto her by bouncing off the wall and clung to her, weighing her down so more could attach themselves. Those that were on her scratched and bit and it caused Kim to trip and stumble to the ground, a few falling off of her as she fell.

While she shook a few of those off and got back to her feet, Kim dashed off again, this time bounding from one wall, to the opposite wall, to the other and back again, trying to gain some distance between her and her captors.

They ran up two flights of stairs, it was almost frightening for the calls of the monkey ninjas would gather more, springing out in front of her from bookcases, windows and rooms she passed. Some managed to cling to her and she'd run, spring, bound and roll, shaking them only to collect more.

Finally she was on the floor with the collection room and Kim spotted the two large oak doors, she immediately sprinted for them, the surge of their desire to have them for Ron giving her feet flight.

She had two monkey ninjas on her when she ran smack into Monkey Fist who was standing in the doorway, shouting orders to a team of monkey ninjas cleaning up the mess that the monkey-beast had caused. She had entered through the other doors, the doors she had smacked into for she could still see the shattered chandelier and the lifeless body of the monkey-beast pinned to the opposite doors.

"You!" Monkey Fist cried, "You did this!"

Kim with two monkeys on either side of her arms, looked up, stunned to see their master.

"Why? What did I do!" he cried. "Professor Dementor _is_ right! You _are_ a hero-thief," he leaned forwards, glaring at her, growling.

Breathlessly, Kim managed to gasp, "Sorry… have to… borrow… I'll return… to the… museum…" fleetingly, she glanced behind herself and saw her monkey ninjas pursuers turning the corner. "Here! Take these!" Kim flung one monkey, then the other one on her arms at Monkey Fist, knocking him over and then scrunched herself into a ball, leaping over his head.

"GET HER!" Monkey Fist shrieked, jabbing a finger at her.

The monkey ninjas in the room doing the clean-up whipped their heads at Kim when their master and given the order.

"Oh, give me a break," Kim groaned, and ran forwards before they could spring into action. As soon as she leapt onto the table in front of her, they sprang after her. Kim bounded over broken class and shattered artefacts, her eyes locked onto the two glimmering amulets still on their pillows on the table she ran on.

"ERGH!" Kim groaned as two monkey ninjas on either side of her impacted on her. They tugged on her hair and pulled her at mouth; they pinched, scratched and bit, slapping her with their palms. A particularly hard jerk of her hair threw Kim off the table and she fell on the floor but was soon back on her feet.

Her body was so weary from the running and from the weight of carrying monkey ninjas, her back screamed at her for putting so much stress on it before it had been able to recover. _Almost… there…_

Kim reached out a hand even though the monkey ninjas on that side of her body scratched and bit her. Reaching out she snagged the two amulets by their chains from the case, her bare arms bled, cut from protruding broken glass. Kim winced, but bore the pain.

She turned herself in her run and smashed the monkey on her left side into the wall as she halted to her spot.

Kim was at a dead end. The oak doors were blocked by the fallen chandelier and the body of the monkey-beast. Turning around with one monkey ninja still on her, Kim turned around to see the other end blocked by Monkey Fist himself and an entire _legion_ of monkey ninjas. Her jaw dropped.

"Give those back," Monkey Fist growled, holding out his hand. "Give those back and we'll lighten your punishment…"

The twin amulets on their chains swung around Kim's arm. She slipped them off and pocketed them into her belt pouches. She had learned a thing or two about wearing unknown Mystical Monkey Power necklaces.

"Don't think so," Kim returned. "These I need, it's personal."

"Then have it your way, you won't get far… ATTACK!"

The monkey ninjas surrounding Monkey Fist sprang forwards, running on the floor, bounding on the tables, all racing towards Kim. Kim's eyebrows flew up, her teeth gritted. The monkey ninja clinging to her already didn't bother to harm her, it knew she had come to her end.

_No I haven't!_

Kim turned to the giant oak doors behind her and pushed on the brass knocker. _Damn!_ She thought; the door pushed outwards, not inwards. Rapidly, Kim reached into her backpack and whipped out her grappling hook. Standing closer to the door, Kim fired the projectile and it shot right through the wood, causing the monkey ninja cling to her to shriek in fear.

Growling, Kim whipped back the grappling hook and pressed hard on the retract button. As the hook returned to the hair dryer, it smashed a wider hole through the door then Kim swan-leapt through the hole, the monkey ninja on her side cracking its head on the door for there wasn't enough space for the both of them to slip through.

Rolling onto the ground and coming to a halt, Kim tore her head around to look back at the door, long hair flying across her face. The monkey ninjas had reached the door, but the hole that was large enough for Kim was also large enough for the monkeys.

Easily, their slim bodies slipped through the hole like rats, two at a time. Just as Kim ran to her feet, four of them attacked her, clinging to her as more, more and more slipped through, attaching like sticky glue, never letting go. Kim shouted and cried trying to throw them off, but as more weighed her down it began to prove more and more difficult.

She tripped and wandered around the room aimlessly as more than ten masked monkey ninjas weighed her down. Kim managed to slip her hand down and feel the married amulets still safe in her belt pockets.

"Aaah…" Kim moaned as she smashed into a wall. She could barely see through the black cloth and fur covering her entire body, but she was able see more monkey ninjas slipping out and barely hear Monkey Fist's warrior cries. The monkey ninjas swarming her was like a giant ball of fur.

_This… is so difficult…_Kim thought. She wondered now if she'd ever make it back to Upperton. _I need a sidekick,_ she thought. _I need Ron… Ron… I'm doing this for him and even then I can't complete one stupid mission on my own! I'm sorry, Ron… I tried… I tried…_

Kim moaned, leaning against the wall, her breathing was becoming difficult, there was hardly any air under all these monkeys and no way to shake them off now… Kim looked through the small gap and realised she was looking out the tall floor-high window. They were… stories high. How many? Six, perhaps.

_I'm sorry, Ron_. "I'm sorry…" she murmured. All she could do now was think of him back in the hospital, unaware of her here, being literally bogged down by monkeys. Kim's knees buckled as she felt (could not see), more monkeys clinging to those that were clinging to her. She took in a ragged breath for air.

_Ron would never know I was here… trying to save him. They're going to pull his plug…_ "Ergh…" another monkey ninja latched itself hard. …_And then he'll die. He'll never know… never know I read his letter; never know that I know why he treated me the way he did… _

No!

She couldn't let that happen! Even though she couldn't have Ron die, it hurt her even more to know that Ron would die without knowing the truth. Kim Possible would _not_ let that happen.

Kim's eyes darted out the window, her only view now. She looked down and saw the moat below.

"…" _My only chance…_

Kim grievously lifted herself from the wall with a groan, her knees begged for her to give way under all the weight. _Not yet, _she told herself. As she walked away from the window, step by heavy step, she felt the side of her that had the most monkeys. Gritting her teeth and blowing fur from her mouth, Kim looked through the tiny gap at the window before her from the other side of the room.

"Stop her!" Monkey Fist was shouting from the other side of the door, "Don't let her get away, I want my amulets!"

Kim ran forwards, just as her vision was blocked by another monkey joining the throng. Kim ran, faster, faster—she almost tripped from the weight of the monkeys!—faster, faster, closer, closer and then…

With a shattering sound of glass flying into the night, Kim threw herself out the window along with all the monkey ninjas that hadn't leapt off of her in time.

For a moment, she felt suspended in time. More monkey ninjas fled her, trying to leap back into the window. And then… the plummet came. Kim closed her eyes as she felt the wind rushing through her hair whipping up behind her. She made no scream—the only screams were those of the unfortunate monkeys still clinging to her.

Slowly, gracefully as she fell from the six story height, she turned into a dive and slipped into the water of the moat below.

Finally. Finally the screams of the monkeys died away and for a brief moment, all was silent as the water bubbled and swam around her in her ears. Silence. Kim, with her eyes still closed, longed to embrace that silence, but no… she felt the amulets in her belt, were they warm? Were they glowing in the water? They were reminding her, _get to the surface!_

Eyes flying open, free from the weight of the monkey ninjas, Kim, eyebrows narrowed, kicked her legs and swam towards the surface. Just as she was about to break it, she was stopped. Gasping with bubbles escaping her mouth, Kim looked down and saw a monkey ninja stuck in the kelp below, it clung to her, intent on dragging her down with it.

Incensed, Kim kicked at the monkey ninja, but it wouldn't release her. Kim could feel her air running out, the delirium clogging her brain. _I didn't come all this way and leap out a freaking window to die here!_ She thought brazenly. With a huge frog-stroke, Kim slipped right out of her pants and broke the surface, gasping for air, coughing and spluttering.

_I did…_ she thought. _I DID IT!_

"HA!" Kim, her wet hair clinging to her scalp, looked up at the monkeys shrilling at her and shaking their fists from the high window she had leapt from. "TAKE THAT!" Kim laughed, treading water. "NEVER MESS WITH THE GIRL OF A MYSTICAL MONKEY POWER WARRIOR!" Immediately shocked at the words that had flung from her mouth, Kim slapped a hand to her mouth but then burst into laughter. Giddy that it was now all over, she could return to the Upperton Hospital…

"Ack!" she cried as something almost hit her on the head and splashed into the water beside her. Glaring back up, she noticed the monkeys were now throwing things at her from out the window. She dived back under the water to avoid more objects and grabbed her pants from the now dead monkey.

She swam along the length of the moat and reappeared bobbing on the surface now well out of throwing distance from the monkeys. Hauling herself out of the water, Kim slipped her pants back on and patted the twin amulets in her belt to make sure they were still there.

Gasping with glee, Kim pulled them out, one in each hand. Grinning from ear to ear, Kim skipped off, running in a gleeful zig-zag down the gravel path away from Monkey Fist's manor, her arms spread out, laughing.

-ø-

Not even stopping on her way home to change or gussy up, Kim stepped off the bus outside the hospital and ran towards the building. Once she stepped out off the elevator on the fifth floor, she ran down the hall and into Ron's room. On the bus ride to the hospital, Wade had told her three days had passed. _Three days!_ That meant four more left and the doctor's would pull the plug. Four days within Ron's own mind…

When Kim burst into Ron's room, she was _going_ to reach into her pocket to call on Wade via the Kimmunicator to tell him that she had arrived and then berate him to hurry and bring the Emerson Cap when…

"Aaaeuurghghgh!" she cried, reeling backwards in her run, a hand flying to cover her face.

"Kim! Glad you're back, you made good time from Italy."

"What in the…"

"Oh," Wade chucked, "That's right, I forgot, _you_ never met the… WADE BOT XR **4**000!" Kim swore the robotic machine in front of her did a little jig, its arms flailing about clapping its pinchers. Wade was on a screen mounted to the blue robot on wheels. "I forgot it was Ron who met Wade-bot before," he laughed again.

"…"

"K-Kim..?"

"AND WHERE WAS THIS WHEN I WAS FIGHTING ALL THE MONKEYS!" Kim hollered, pointing a finger at the… _thing_. Kim didn't notice a few curious nurses glancing from their deskwork into Ron's room.

"Getting your Emerson Cap and setting it all up!" Wade-bot motioned an arm at the set-up behind him. There was machine on the table where Ron's flowers and gift cards had been, a chair beside that with the Emerson Cap on the seat. Kim supposed that's where she would sit. On the Emerson cap was a space where she guessed one of the two amulets would click into.

She looked at Ron, her expression slipping softly. Eyes still closed, Ron lay still like all the times before. There was a metal band of sorts around his forehead, this one was different from the Emerson Cap Kim would be wearing. This was also hooked to the machine and, like the Emerson Cap, there was a small space on the band for an amulet to clip into.

"I guess I sit there," Kim said, walking over to the chair.

Wade on the screen nodded, "That's right. You have the amulets?"

Kim snorted, "You better believe I do," and from within Kim's belt pockets, Kim withdrew the two amulets, one in each hand.

"Perfect," Wade smiled, the Wade-bot motoring over to the machine. "Clip those into the spaces, would you?"

"Sure." Kim clipped the amulet off the chain and it fit perfectly into the space on the Emerson Cap. Then she walked to Ron and clipped his amulet into his headband. She murmured assurance to Ron, running her gloved hand through his hair.

"Soon," she breathed to him, "Soon, you'll be out here again."

Shivering, Kim retracted her hand, holding it in her own. What would happen in Ron's mind? It hadn't dawned on her before, but wouldn't she probably meet him? That's right, she had to help him wake. Persuade him. They would talk for the first time since…

_The change room._

It was then that the butterflies settled in Kim's stomach. She had no idea how Ron would react to her after it appeared that she had shoved him into lockers thus causing him to fall into unconsciousness. Perhaps he would prefer it if she hooked Tara up to the Emerson Cap then _she_ could rescue him.

Kim thought about the conversation she and Tara had back in November. No, Ron was _Kim's_. Even if Tara could better persuade Ron to awaken, Kim would not let the two of them be together when he awoke. _Kim_ wanted to be with Ron, if she could change him and get him to understand that he was wrong. Going inside his mind and begging him to return would prove to Ron that she _really_ wanted him back.

_Heh, and the stories I have to tell him_, Kim thought of her recent monkey encounter the day before.

She glanced behind herself at Wade. The Wade-bot was hooked to the Emerson computer, and Wade on the screen typed at his keyboard, entering calculations.

"Any chance of danger?" Kim asked.

"If they pull the plug while you're still in his mind. Then you're both gone."

Kim grimaced.

"But don't worry," he hastened, "I'll be here watching over the both of you. I won't let anyone pull Ron's plug while you're in his mind."

Kim nodded slowly, turning back to Ron. "I'll be with you shortly," she murmured in his hear, touching his cheek with her bare palm that she had slipped out from her glove.

Pulling her glove back on, Kim walked to the seat and precariously sat the Emerson Cap on her head. She took in a large breath, "I'm ready."

"Bring him back," Wade on screen nodded his head.

"I won't come back without him."

"Here we go…" the Wade-bot lifted a claw and was about to press the button on the computer when the door to Ron's room burst open.

Kim's eyes darted behind the Wade-bot and the camera on top swivelled around to face two angry nurses and two imposing security guards.

"What are you doing!" one of the nurses alarumed, "What's _that_!" she pointed at Wade-bot.

"Get them out of here," the other shouted and the two big security guards leapt towards Wade-bot. Wade-bot's arms flailed in the air as it tried to scooter around the room and evade the security guards from shutting it off.

"Kim!" Wade cried out on screen as the beefy security guard grabbed one of its flailing arms. "You gotta go! You gotta rescue Ron, we're _running out of time_!"

"Wade," Kim shouted back, worried. She attempted to stand up and pull the Emerson Cap off her head but-

"NO!" Wade yelled back, torn between being firm with Kim and distressed for his beloved Wade-bot.

"But-"

"I'll be fine, I'll make sure you guys are-" One of the security guards leapt for Wade, smashing the camera off the robot.

"_Wade_!"

Both of the security guards had each of Wade's Wade-bot arms in their grasp even as it tried to struggle free from their hold to activate the Emerson Cap for Kim. Kim glanced at the two nurses, they were frightened, hanging back, waiting for the security guards to control this wild robot that had somehow gotten into one of their patient's room.

"I--" Wade's voice came, disjointed from the deteriorating Wade-bot, "Ca—tivate the—itch!"

Kim was again about to sit up and take the cap off to help Wade when screams erupted from the two nurses. Startled and shocked at their screams, Kim barely glimpsed Rufus leaping through her vision.

But Kim was too distressed for Wade to notice fully what the mole-rat had done. If Wade went offline, he wouldn't be able to watch over her and more importantly—Ron! They could pull the plug with Kim in Ron's mind and the two of them would… would cease to be! Kim had to have someone watching over them, if only the security guards would leave them all alone!

Kim had her hands on the cap but then Rufus leapt onto the switch and…

"WADE! N--"


	7. Kim in Ronderland

Thanks to the following reviewers: :), louise88, Zaratan, coolgreencat, John Steppenwolf, Forlong, Classic Cowboy, matt3671, Akemi, demon-sword, Dragonslayer527, qtpie235, Tragic Eyez, Ace Ian Combat, Peacepop, Masau, Dr.Cube, JPMod, Totally Donny's Ninja Girl, Cold-Chaos, Burpadski, BrattyBrina, Visigoth29527, LJ Fan, Yumiki-chan, Deyinel, Kari, knuckz, crazyboutbooks, Drakken, nessa92, anxiously waiting, Charlene and Loo (I have aggrivated power and you don't D:).

* * *

¤ Instalment 07 »» _Kim in Ronderland _¤ 

But the things I've seen in those hazy dreams

Can't compare to what I'm seeing now

Everything's so different

That it brings me to my knees

-Sweetbox, '_Real Emotion_'

* * *

—O!" 

When Kim opened her eyes… no, opened her _mind_, she had no being. She felt as if she filled the entire white void that was all around. Frantically, she looked down for her body but found nothing, hysteria seizing her, she twirled around and around, brazenly looking for herself but found nothing. No! She should have a body! This wasn't right! It was way too freaky and sci-fi for her likings. A body… she needed a-

And then she had one and felt her mind feel contained and no longer filling the expansive void around her. Gasping, Kim looked down at herself. Shocked and yet relieved to finally have her body back, Kim gently patted her bare midriff, looking down at her mission clothes. Ok, so that was good.

But what about the _outside_ world! Could Wade and Rufus handle things on their own at the other end? They _had_ to convince the hospital staff to leave her with Ron and that she really was in his mind! She and Ron could both _die_ if Wade's Wade-bot shut down and no-one was there to explain what was happening. And yet, it was a risk Kim was willing to take for Ron, but the unknown going ons of the outside world still made her nervous.

_Can't think about that now_, she thought. _My job now is to find Ron as quickly as possible. I have _no_ idea the time difference between a coma'd mind and reality. It's Wade's job now to look after the outside._ Sniffing, Kim looked around at her surroundings.

Now, where was she…

She gasped for the second time. Was she dreaming? She hadn't known what to expect upon entering someone's mind (let alone _Ron's_), but she certainly hadn't imagined it to look like a reception room. Many times Kim had been in one, waiting for the CEO of some company to speak with her about something stolen, (or pretending something to be stolen) and this room she was now in was much the same.

"Okay, points for weirding me out…"

Kim didn't know how to go about looking for Ron or even if she really _was_ in his mind, but she supposed ringing the bell on the reception desk was a good place to start. Strutting forwards with her hands on her hips, Kim reached the desk and rang the little bell twice and waited for a response.

She hadn't expected one so soon.

Startled, Kim recoiled, a hand flying for her heart when a figure popped out from underneath the desk, a burrito in his hand.

"What? Sorry, you want something? I'm, er, real busy. Yea, totally busy." Giving the Exhibit A burrito an edgy glance, he chucked it over his shoulder and dusted off his hands.

Kim was too stunned to even notice. "_Ron!_" she alarumed. Ok, she had planned on finding Ron as quickly as she could, but she hadn't counted on finding him _this_ fast.

"Whoah," Ron said, leaning forwards and squinting at Kim. Taken off guard, Kim flinched, sending him a questioning glare in return. "Ok, I'm taking a wild guess here and saying you're lost?"

"Me?" Kim asked, pointing at herself. Now she had no idea what was going on. "Well, I thought you were a moment ago, but ok, I'll go along with this. I suppose if I'm lost, you're lost too since we're together. Unless you know where we are."

Ron frowned at her and for the first time Kim noticed he was wearing a white collar shirt and tie. Now Kim was _officially_ lost.

He said, "You're, like, at the reception desk?"

"Is that question?"

"Uh, no. So, you're from where?" When Kim again looked at Ron, he was now typing at a laptop computer that she was _positive_ had not been there before and yet it sat there like it had been in front of her all along.

"How'd that get there?" she asked stubbornly, pointing to the laptop.

"H'm?" Ron glanced at her and shrugged, "Where did you say you were from?"

"Uh, I didn't say," Kim leaned to one side, hand on hip. "Ok, Ron, let's cut this act and get down to the facts. I don't completely get what's going on with all this setup but you have to know you're in a coma and-"

Ron laughed conversationally, "Oh, I know we're in a coma, KP. That's old news, get with it, girl. You really must be lost if you don't even know _that_."

Kim frowned, she didn't like being talked to this way, but something else caught her attention. " 'We'?"

"Duh," Ron cocked a satirical eyebrow at her. "Now answer my question, I said I'm, like, totally busy here-"

Kim smirked, "Like eating your _burrito_?" she mocked.

She smiled when she saw that familiar expression of frustration cross Ron's face. Ignoring her comment, he went on, clacking away at the laptop, fingers not on the correct keys. "You're from where? Fantasies? A Dream? Not a memory…"

"_What?_" Kim squawked, " '_Fantasies_'?"

"Naw, you're right, you're not dressed properly."

"…"

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say 'Dream'? I'm pretty sure Memories collect as one, I don't think they can be torn apart, if they can, then we're never gonna get our act together. Or maybe you're something more complex," Ron scratched his blonde head. "C'mon, KP. Help me out here, tell me if I'm hot or cold."

"Cold, Ron, way cold," Kim replied dryly. "Look, I came all the way from out there," she jabbed her thumb in a random direction, not even sure which way was Reality. "I came to _rescue_ you, y'know, bring you back to re-al-uh-tee?"

Ron stared blankly at her.

"I'm not some Fantasy or Dream, ok? I'm Kim. _The_ Kim."

"From… Reality?"

"Yes."

Ron appeared to think this over. "Ok, so now that I know for certain you're a Delusion-"

"I'm not a delusion, I'm _not_ a dream!" Kim slammed her hands on the desk and a cup of pens rattled—a cup of pens, like the laptop, that hadn't been there before but looked and felt like they had. "Ron! Get real, you're in a coma and I went and kicked monkey butt, dove out a window, sweated on a shipping boat and, like, just didn't have an all around good time to get a pair of amulets so I could go into your mind and freaking rescue you! Now I know we have major baggage to check through, but let's get you back to 'Reality' first otherwise-"

"You're the Real Kim?"

"_Yes_!"

"Well, Ron's gone through stranger…"

Kim squinted at him, "What do you mean 'Ron'? You _are_ Ron, right?"

She meant it has rhetorical, but he answered anyway. "No. Well, kinda."

"Kinda?" She crossed her arms, patience failing her.

"I, uh, I think you're looking for First Person Ron."

"Are we in English class?"

"The Ron from the waking world, the conscious Ron who thinks, who Is. The Ron who is I, Me and Myself. The Ron you speak to when you talk to him in Reality."

"And you're not?"

"No," the Ron shook his head, "I'm just one of many trying to help organize his mind and put it all in order for when he decides to awaken. The whole place went into a complete and _total_ meltdown when that coma hit us. Everything's been scattering for awhile now, slowly at first, y'know? But now it's all crazy-go-nuts."

"So you're, like, what?" Kim asked, "A brain cell? How can all this be possible?" Kim threw up her arms, indicating at the room around them. "A room isn't inside a brain. This isn't logical at all."

The Ron laughed, "KP, you're not in Ron's brain. You're in his _mind_."

"Big diff?"

"Way diff," the Ron nodded. "See, what you see is created by your imagination so your mind can make sense of what's around you. What a real mind looks like can't be grasped by human understanding. Your imagination takes over and forms something similar to what's really going on so you can understand your surroundings, get it?"

"This is an illusion?"

"Well… yea, in a sense."

"Created by me?"

The Ron nodded.

"Not Ron? It's _his_ mind."

"But First Ron isn't here, you are."

"So…" Kim stroked her chin, trying to wrap her brain around this sitch. "If one of us isn't somewhere, it doesn't exist? Like behind that door," Kim pointed to a door that again hadn't been there before but remained there like it had been forever. "There's nothing behind that door, but if I walk through it, there will be?"

"Not really," the Ron shrugged, looking around for something. "More mind stuff is there, just nothing you can understand. But it'll change to something when you walk into it."

"So that's why stuff keeps randomly appearing!"

"Say what?"

"Like that laptop, and that cup, that vase, that door, that beagle… it all wasn't there before, but now it Is because I subconsciously imagined it to be there?"

"Totally! Now you're catching on!" the Ron beamed at her proudly and Kim felt a wave of nostalgia hit her, it made her think this was the real Ron… or 'First Ron'.

"Can I imagine Ron to be behind me and he'll be there? 'First Ron', that is?" Kim asked, trying not to let the hope show in her voice.

"Nope," the Ron shook his head. "Cos he's his own person, y'know? If he's busy elsewhere, he'll be there. Just like you're here now."

"Ah." Kim stood, thinking. "Where is Ron? It's a bit urgent that I find him…"

"Don't I know it!" the Ron leaned back in his swivel chair that a moment ago had been a stool. "I told ya, the whole place is a mess, I can feel it all crumbling. Y'see, he's resisting, we can all feel it. First Ron is resisting our clean-up, not sure why though." Was that last sentence sarcastic?

"But where is he?"

"No clue. He could be anywhere."

Kim looked to her, left, her right, then back at the Ron. "Then how do I find him?"

"Go out a door and start searching. He could be trapped in a dream or nightmare, reliving some of his memories…"

"Well how long is it going to take to find him?" Kim sighed, her shoulders slumping. "How big is this place?"

"Infinite."

"Say what!"

Again the Ron shrugged and picked up a taco, "There's no end walls. It's a mind. You start somewhere and continue on and on and on."

"Then it could take forever to find Ron! I don't _have_ forever!" Kim threw up her arms in exasperation.

"Then you better start now," the Ron grinned and Kim returned it with a scowl.

"Will, uh," Kim paused, entertaining the notion. "Will you come with me? As a guide?"

"No can do, Kimila," Ron's taco was finished already and he returned to the laptop. "I told ya, I got a job to do, all of us do."

"Mmkay, whatever," Kim sighed. "So just head out any old door and look everywhere until I find him?"

"You got it."

"Well, thanks for everything…" Kim gathered herself up and headed for a door to her right that she imagined to be there. Opening the door, Kim looked back over her shoulder at the Ron at the reception desk. He was no longer attentively typing at his laptop; he was now leaning back in a sofa chair, playing video games.

"Great help you were…" she grumbled and proceeded out the door.

As soon as she shut the door behind her, Kim gasped at what she saw. A hallway. The walls were a pale grey, the carpet a darker shade, even the doors were grey. Kim had stumbled into a hallway that she could see no visible end to and every few feet in between there was a door, with another one directly opposite it. Swallowing, Kim walked forwards cautiously and approached the closest door on the left.

The door was bland, other than a symbol on it. The symbol was a cloud, with the letter 'Z'… and two wavy lines, then the number fourty-three thousand six-hundred and eighty-one, 'y' to the second power.

She squinted at it. _What does _that_ mean?_ Kim reached for the doorknob to open the door only to discover that it was locked. Kim tsked and tried to open the door across from it: that door was locked too! Anxiety rose inside of her, Kim ran to the next set of doors, both were also locked, so were the next pair, and the next and the ones after that! Frenzied and becoming increasingly desperate, Kim thunked her back into a wall and slid down in hopelessness.

_I don't get it!_ She thought rapidly, _All the doors are locked and this hallway just keeps going on forever! How am I supposed to find Ron? Hope he walks out of one of these doors and grab him!_ Kim buried her head in her gloved hands. _Maybe lazy-supposed-to-be-working!Ron can tell me what to do._

Standing up, Kim was about to walk back when she eyed the door in front of her again. Along her journey to try and open every door, she had come across various symbols on doors, about five different symbols actually and all with different numbers, letters, powers and even other symbols she didn't know. This door in front of her also had a cloud, a 'Z' and two wavy lines like the first door she had seen… except, unlike the first one, this one had a thunderbolt coming from the cloud.

Sighing, Kim reached out for the knob and attempted it again not expecting anything to happen. And nothing did, it didn't open. _Come _on_, I imagine it to open so why won't it open?_ _Whatever these are… they belong to Ron. Maybe because I'm not him… like these are his and I need authorization? Or…_

A key?

_But there's no keyhole_, _I'd need a keyhole for that,_ she thought, looking down at the clean and dull carpeted floor.

When she lifted her head from the floor, she stood slack-jawed to see a keyhole just above the doorknob! _Right… Like in the office, I imagine the keyhole to be there and so it became so. All I need now is a key…_ She smiled, catching on, _And I have one. In my pocket._

Kim reached into her pouch pocket and pulled out a tiny key. _At least, now I do_, she grinned.

Pleased with herself for catching on so fast, Kim slid the key into the keyhole and to her gratification, the door swung open when she pulled it towards her. Imagining the key gone from her hand, the key vanished and Kim took a tentative step forwards.

Standing in front of the doorway, Kim regarded what she saw. It was peculiar, even like watching a soap opera with a white faded border all around the image in the doorway, except that's all it was in the doorway. Not a room, but a giant video screen. No people, no Rons either, only scenery.

Taking a closer step forwards, Kim investigated the scenery. It was so _real_, not a painting, and not even like a video for it was even _more_ realistic than that. It was like what she saw _really_ did exist on the other side.

Within the scene was a cobblestone street, full of cracks and potholes and along the streets were buildings and brick walls. The building's windows were cracked, some broken and the doors off their hinges, it gave Kim the impression that maybe this city had long been deserted after being rioted. The entire scene in front of her was an orangey-rustic brown, it looked quite melancholy.

Before Kim could wonder why this place was in Ron's mind, a loud canon sound burst through the air, thudding Kim's heart, she ducked instinctively, hitting the floor and covering her head swiftly. She waited for the missile that was surely fired to pass by, a while passed and Kim felt no wind ruffle her hair nor heard any whizzing projectiles being shot over her head.

Peeking over her arm, she realised nothing had happened despite the sound. How could that have happened? It sounded so realistic, like it had been aimed right at her! Then the noise cracked through the air again and Kim flinched, ready to hide her head again. Because she didn't bury her face this time, she saw the missile fly by in the screen, it came down on an angle and exploded with a deafening sound (Kim covered her ears) nearby just off screen.

It wasn't a place Kim remembered, it couldn't have been from an actual place she'd been to on a mission.

_What is this place and why is it in Ron's mind!_ Biting her tongue, Kim thought about closing the door and trying another when from the corner of her eyes, she unmistakeably caught a familiar blonde head bop up for a split second from behind a dumpster in an alleyway across the street.

"Ron!" Kim cried. More exploding sounds boomed from inside the door so Kim was forced to raise her voice while cupping her mouth with her hands. "Ron! Come here, I'm over here!" she waved her hand in the air but his head never reappeared.

Growling, Kim didn't know what to do. She waved for him again, calling his name and this time while waving her hand… it accidentally passed through the screen. Kim gasped, retracting her hand promptly.

It wasn't a screen, she realised, but a _portal_. Kim poked her fingers through the portal in the doorway and saw them on the other side, her glove even matching the lighting on the other side. Without notice, there was another explosion nearby and then rapid gunfire from machine guns. Kim did _not_ like the idea of stepping into that place but… her eyes darted to the dumpster. Ron was there.

_I'm coming, Ron_! And Kim leapt through the portal.

Right when she was on the other side, Kim looked behind her and was relieved to see the door still there, still open. She could grab Ron and escape through that door. _Good plan!_ A missile exploded just ten feet away. _Ok, better not just stand in the middle of the street_. Kim streaked for the alleyway on the other side of the street.

"There!" someone cried, surprised to hear someone's voice, Kim turned her head to the source as she ran and made an estranged sound in her throat.

There, in the middle of the cobblestone street was _the_ most enormous tank Kim had _ever_ seen in her _entire_ life down the street. There was a man at the top in uniform pointing a finger at Kim. That was never a good sign. As she ran, she watched as the tank readjusted its canon, aiming it just in front of Kim.

_FASTER, FASTER, FASTER!_ Her mind screamed.

The missile exploded from the mouth of the canon and Kim, needless to say, picked up speed… She wasn't going to make it! Kim and the missile would collide! Growling and gritting her teeth, Kim leapt into the air and right as she did, the missile whizzed underneath her. Kim bounced off of it, giving her lift so she soared into the air and onto the dumpster in the alleyway, rolling off of it to hide behind for shelter.

As soon as she landed, she landed on something that grunted.

Eyes wide, Kim looked down at Ron in his mission outfit.

"Ron!"

"I give up!" Ron cried out, he sounded as if he was on the verge of tears and _absolutely_ petrified. "Just don't-" he looked up at Kim, his face fell. "No…" he murmured, sounding horrified rather than relieved.

Explosions were heard from the streets and more machine gunfire. Cringing, Kim slid into the corner of the dumpster and the brick wall behind her looking astounded at Ron. And he was looking just as astounded in return. They stared at each other, eyes wide.

"I found you!" she smiled, breaking their silence. "Ron, this place is _crazy_! We gotta get you out, there's a doorway just over-" she stopped talking. Ron was looking at her as if he was seeing a ghost. He shook his head slowly, his eyes so wide with terror, it made her want to hug him.

"No," he murmured, "It can't be…"

"Can't be what?" Kim asked and shut her eyes the moment another explosion tore up the street.

Yet then she knew, he must be startled to see her in his mind, after all, he didn't know she was coming in to rescue him. Especially not if he had been trapped _here_ all this time! Not only that, but the last time he had seen her was when she had been screaming at him and then… and then pushed him. Kim wasn't even sure if Ron knew he had malaria, perhaps, if he knew he was in a coma, perhaps he blamed _her_. Perhaps he thought she pushed him into the coma.

But then he said something she hadn't expected:

"You're dead."

Now Kim's eyes _really_ widened. "Me? Dead? Me dead?"

"They killed you!" Ron declared, his hands were in tight fists and tears gathered in his eyes. "I saw them! They killed you! You were dead and there was blood and…"

"Ron, Ron," Kim soothed, hiding her confusion. She reached out her arms for him but he held back. "I'm not dead, I'm right here, I promise."

"How..? Why aren't you dead?"

Kim smirked, trying to lighten his mood while her mind tried to grasp for a reason why he might think her to be _dead_. "Gee, thanks. You _want_ me to be dead?"

"No! I just… I thought… and what I saw…" his voice cracked. "Oh, Kim!" and Kim was astonished as he threw himself at her, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his head into her neck.

Kim's mouth opened and she felt his breath on her skin not covered by her mission sweater. Then she felt his very real tears touch her 'flesh'. Gently, she patted him on the back, awkwardly at first, but then unable to control her emotions, she gave in and fully embraced him in return.

_Maybe he thinks me dead because… He's trapped in this world. Maybe like me and the reception room, this war-torn place is what Ron imagines his world to be, to adjust himself in his mind to something he recognises. Like this world is what mirrored his version of reality. And then me… me being so… so cruel to him it was like I was dead to him—the old me, the one that had cared about him before our hands detached. I understand now._

They sat there behind the dumpster, the appalling sounds of war blowing up all around them. At times they even heard flying debris pelt the roof of the dumpster. She let Ron cry onto her and pacified him, hugging him close and stroking his soft, messy hair. Was this where Ron had been the _whole_ time? Trapped in this hellish world with no Kim to rescue him? No wonder he never woke, how would he have known how? He must be so lost and confused…

"Don't cry, Ron," Kim murmured softly in his ear. "There's a door over there and we can escape this, ok?"

"A door…" Ron whispered.

She was surprised he wasn't asking her how she landed in his mind yet. "Yes… come on, Ron. Let's go."

"No!" Ron sat up like a bolt of lightening. "No, we have to hide!"

"Hide?"

"We have to get out of here!" Quite suddenly, Ron was seized with a panic. He reached for Kim's hand and he immediately pulled her to her feet without even giving her a moment to think. Kim let out a small wail as Ron led her down the alleyway away from the door.

"Through here," Ron insisted and was on his knees, sliding his slim frame easily through a gap in the fence. Sceptical, Kim followed him more clumsily.

They were in another alleyway and Ron led her down more, turning this way and that, never running near a street and guiding her through numerous secret passageways.

"I really think we should be going the _other_ way," Kim replied, grunting as she tried to pull her hips out from a whole in a fence that Ron had slid through like a cat. She wasn't comfortable with the idea of running _away_ from the Door.

But Ron was persistent, "They'll find us, I'm not loosing you again!"

Kim opened her mouth to respond but decided to keep it closed for the time being. She looked back at her hips and growled at herself. _They're not _that_ big!_ Ron stood over her, wringing his hands and his eyes darted every which way, searching for possible enemies. She tried a different approach and imagined the hole in the fence to become wider and it did. _Ok, we're _never_ speaking of _that_ again._

"Well, where are we going then?" she tried, blowing strands of hair from her face.

"Somewhere safe," Ron whispered back and once again took her hand.

Without even realising it, it was no longer day, but rather night time in this strange war-torn town. Kim had no idea when or how it happened, but decided not to complain about it to Ron. All while the sounds of explosions, gunfire, glass breaking and yells sounded from the streets.

Eventually, Ron halted when he reached another dumpster, clambering on top of its closed lid. "Up here," he whispered, beckoning for Kim to follow. Sighing, Kim flipped much easier onto the dumpster using her cheer skills and stood beside Ron.

"Where's that?" Looking up, she pursed her lips, watching Ron crawl up a metal ladder onto a catwalk; she followed. She followed him up a number of flights until he stopped at a window that was open, only slightly.

"In here," he opened the window, but not before looking left and right, then slipped himself inside. Kim did the same and he shut the window behind her.

Although there were no lights inside the room they had just crawled into, Kim could still see the room through the light of the moon and stars casting into the room. It was a very tiny room with one door. It also had a bed, a dresser and a writing desk.

"Are we safe now?" Kim asked. She knew the tone was serious and Ron was truly frightened so she kept the sarcasm out of her voice.

"I hope so," he replied gravely. "We can talk here," he sat down on the bed, pushing himself into the corner and wrapped his arms around his legs. "I thought you were dead, I saw you die."

"I don't know what you saw, Ron," Kim replied, "But I'm not dead." Kim thought on it for a moment, "Who did you see kill me?" she asked.

Ron laughed softly, his voice embittered. "Shego did it herself, of course. She wouldn't let any of her henchdudes touch you. The great Kim Possible? Only Shego's allowed to kill you." Then he tilted his head, very monkey-like, at Kim, "But you're not dead."

"No," Kim replied serenely, sitting beside him on the bed. "What's that around your neck?" Kim asked, pointing. For the first time, she noticed a tight leather collar around his neck.

"H'mm?" Ron looked down, even though he couldn't see it. "I just escaped, they're looking for me. They think I'm going to start a rebellion, I guess."

"You didn't answer my question." She reached forwards and Ron cringed, almost as if it were instinct to recoil when someone made a move to touch him, instead she touched the golden tag dangling from the collar and read the words. She read quietly aloud, "Ron Stoppable, Grade Seven, Red aaaand… a star." She looked up at Ron, " 'Grade Seven'? What? Got flunked?"

He looked at her is if she were silly and took his gold tag back from her, fingering it nervously. "Grade Seven threat, it's the worst there is."

"I see."

There was silence between the two. Kim wasn't sure what to say. It was hard to believe that all this time, he lost his mind to this nightmare, forgetting about reality and his troubles… forgot about waking. _It's amazing I found him so quickly_.

"Ron, you know we have to go back, right?"

"I know…" his quiet voice drifted off into the darkness. "I'm so frightened, Kim. But… if you go back, I will. With you."

"Of course I'm going back, and I'm not going back without you."

Ron's eyes flickered, "It's horrible out there…"

"I know, but things will be different."

"You'll be with me."

"Exactly," she looked at him with endearing eyes.

Later when he would awake from the coma, she would talk to him about his Confusion, about the things he had done to her to try and make her like him once again. But they wouldn't speak of that now no matter how much it itched Kim. The important thing was to get him _back_. To do that, she regarded him, would take a _lot_ of TLC. The way he sat, bunched into the corner and looking so beat up, so weak in spirit made Kim want to cry and embrace him again, uttering apologies and true promises. _Be gentle first, then we can hark it out about our past_.

"Can we stay here for a little while?" Ron asked, shuffling a little closer to her. "It's safe here."

"No, we need to get back as soon as possible."

"I suppose so."

"Ron," Kim's voice wavered, he didn't know, she reminded herself. He didn't know the outside world was on the very verge of pulling his plug and how much that pained her. "It's all going to _end_. You, me, the both of us will be _gone_ if we don't go back soon."

"I _know_," Ron replied irritably and inched closer to Kim.

Kim moved towards him as well so they were now shoulder to shoulder. "I know it's kinda scary out there, but I'm here now. We'll get back safely. I know the way back. Sorta. To the office at least."

Ron said nothing, he only shifted himself so he sat facing Kim. She looked into his eyes but he wasn't looking back at her. Looking into them stealthily, she noticed how dismal they were, how heavy with immeasurable hurt.

"But you're here right now," he murmured. "And we're safe."

"For the time being."

She felt him lean against her. "When I… when I thought you d-died… You have no idea what that was like for me. I…"

"Ron," she turned to face him. "Believe me, Ron. I know what it's like to think that you—you, Ron—would be gone from my life forever. It… it isn't a pleasant thought. The thought still hasn't left me."

"So…"

"I missed you so much," she whispered in his ear. The next thing she knew Ron was kissing her softly on her lips.

Confusion leapt into her mind. He was kissing her. Australia, the party, his own thoughts, everything negative flooded into her mind and she felt the impulse to push him away again but… the letter, all the little hints that revealed that Ron really cared, what Tara had told her and her _own_ feelings for him came back. _I have that all sorted out_, she reminded herself sternly. _We still have to talk, but… for now…_

She kissed him back tenderly, resting a hand lightly on his shoulder.

They broke apart and Kim blushed, gazing at Ron so close. He was leaning towards her, propping himself up with one arm, looking into her eyes… Those eyes just like back at the party when the two of them had been walking back to Gil's house from the jock fight. Ron had looked into her eyes back then and how warm and gentle they had been, so filled with sorrow Kim wanted to whisk away.

Perhaps it wasn't wise for this to happen before they talked, but she couldn't control herself. For being months away from Ron _right _when the feelings for him were blossoming inside of her had tormented her and now that she was with him, they overtook her.

Kim allowed Ron to lean in for another kiss, the two fell gently onto the bed, Ron's upper half on top of her, the rest beside her. The kiss was long and delicate and Kim felt her own tears mix with his against their cheeks. She felt a pillow behind her head cushioning her that must have come from one of their imaginations. Ron came and laid his head next to hers, slipping his right hand in her left; his arm lying across her body. Ron pressed his face close to her, kissing her gently on her cheek. Still holding hands, Kim rolled onto her side and kissed him again, this time he slipped his arms around her waist, holding her close, but still so lightly.

While they snuggled, Kim noticed that the window had moved. Before it had been to the side of the bed and now it had moved to the wall beside them. Kim could look out and see the torn out city now being lightly pelted with rain, some splattering the window. The room wasn't heated and soon it became cold. Shivering, Kim moved in closer to Ron, trying to warm herself with his warmth. Feeling her shivering and teeth chatter Ron pulled her closer nuzzling and kissing her.

She felt his leg rest between hers and leaned closer to him, hiding her face into his chest. "I'm sorry," she murmured.

"It's not your fault," he replied.

"I know… part of it is. I shouldn't have-" but Ron lifted a no-longer-gloved hand to her mouth and shushed her. He only removed his finger when his lips again touched hers and she slipped her arms around his neck, falling into him, a blanket coming out of no-where enwrapping the two.

Kim snorted lightly as Ron gently kissed her neck, "Now I don't want to go back yet," she murmured.

"It'll be fine," he replied, his voice and breath warming her neck; her teeth chattered. "A few moments together… I missed you. I thought you were gone forever."

"I won't leave you again," Kim replied, closing her eyes. "But we… oh!" Ron lightly sucked on her neck. "We still have to talk."

"Of course."

They kissed again, multiple kisses and she nuzzled him, now as close as she could be. "What you wrote in your letter… That feeling you described. I was so dumb, Ron. That feeling really was there for me all the time, but I thought I had all this proof… Your letter… thank-you."

Ron returned the nuzzle. "What letter?" he asked gently. "The coded letter?"

Kim laughed softly, "It was a bit of a code. The one you left me in the bag with the Rabphin, I didn't see it until the night you went into the coma…"

Ron pulled away so he could look at her face, but still kept his arms wrapped around her. "Rabphin? Coma? I don't think I went into a coma… you mean when they bashed our heads when they captured us? We blacked out then."

Kim's voice pulled out of its passion and became more serious. "Don't freak me, Ron. You left me a cupcake, a Rabphin and a letter inside a bag in my locker the day after I blew up at you."

"I… I don't understand," Ron replied.

Neither did Kim.

Her eyes flashed dangerously, but she held down her temper. "You…" it was no point in repeating what she already said. Instead she asked, "What happened to you Ron? Or us, what happened to us?"

Ron held her close, now rolling on_ top_ of her fully and she gasped. "I don't want to talk about that." He returned to sucking her neck, holding her hand, the other lightly touching her bare midriff.

"But I do," Kim said, struggling to sit up for the feeling intensifying in her wanted to give in to him. "I need to know what's going on…"

"Later… Kim, please," he buried his face into her neck. Not kissing, just hiding. His voice muffled said, "It was horrible back there, I don't want to go back there."

"But _what_, Ron? I don't think we're on the same wavelength."

"We will be," he purred, nuzzled her again and giving her cheek a lick.

Kim fell silent, torn.

"No," she said, trying to prop herself up. "This… this isn't even _real_, Ron. This is… imagination, this isn't real."

"It feels real," Ron replied. Even though Kim was propping herself up with her hands, Ron was still on top of her.

"Only because we imagine it to be, not… not our real… real… not real. We talk. Now."

"Why not later?"

"Because I said so."

At that, Ron pulled himself off of Kim, leaning back into the corner. He eyed her looking pitiful, "If you say so. Later then? Before we leave?"

Kim shivered, "Talk first." She wanted to make no promises. "Tell me, Ron. Where are we?"

"City?"

"Yes."

"Lowerton."

No wonder Kim didn't recognise the place!

"Y-you mentioned Shego had taken over?"

Ron nodded, slumping in the corner. "She took over the whole world."

"When? How?" Kim pressed.

Ron shrugged, barely interested, "Since forever, I guess."

That didn't make any sense. Kim frowned, "Since we were born, you mean?" Shouldn't Ron have at least _some_ memory of reality and the outside world even if he had trapped his mind in the illusion?

Ron opened his mouth then closed it. He thought. "I don't know. Just… always. Always."

"You were captured," Kim continued. "Tell me about that."

"We were…" Ron murmured, the recollection troubling him. "A long time ago… She caught us and we were imprisoned. We… were slaves like everyone else captured, we lived in a slave community right here in Lowerton. Don't you remember, Kim? We lived in a small cabin. The kitchen and dinning room one room, the upper loft our beds," Ron stopped, eyeing Kim as if she were about to burst into tears even though she was clearly far from it. "You started doing rebel work, I told you not to. I told you Shego would find out and kill you but you didn't listen to me." His voice began to crack with wrought, "I told you to just embrace our new lives! But you never listened."

Kim cringed at those words. Even in this nightmare, this other Kim 'never listened'.

"She caught you and then killed you in front of me, to scare me into not continuing your work."

"Were you going to?"

"No."

Kim fell silent.

"But then I escaped and I was hiding for days. Then…" Ron's voice lightened, "To-day, you came back to me! You're alive! Was it a plot, Kim? A plot to make Shego think you died? Why didn't you tell me? Your 'death', Kim, it… I…" He leaned forwards again as if to take hold of Kim but then held back. "Is that it?" he asked, "Is that all you need to know? We…" Ron's eyes shifted and he lowered his voice. "We won't be safe here forever…" he tried to inch a little closer to Kim.

But she was too busy staring at him profoundly. "Is that all you remember?"

"Kim?"

"All you remember is being capture and from then on?"

Ron thought this over. "I… guess… I can tell you what happened before that… or guess… Why?"

"You're not First Ron, are you?"

"P-pardon?"

"You're not Ron! Not_ my_ Ron… you're a Ron from a dream, from a nightmare he must have had… Aren't you?"

Ron fell silent, staring at her. She read his eyes and could tell he didn't know what the heck she was talking about. It only confirmed her suspicions. She shook her head rapidly, "I'm wasting, time! I shouldn't even be here, I have to get back and find my Ron!"

She pushed herself off the bed and flew to the window that had moved back to its place where it had been when the two had crept into the room.

"Kim!" Ron cried out, reaching an arm for her. "Please… don't leave me again…"

Kim looked back at him. "You're not even real, you're just a figment."

"Don't… that hurts…"

The pain in his eyes looked genuine to Kim, as if it really _was_ _her_ Ron there on the bed and not some dream Ron. With that look in his eyes, that much desperateness, how could he be a figment? And yet after she left, this Ron would no longer exist, he wasn't real, this place was never real, it wasn't even a memory, only a nightmare.

Kim was about to tear open the window when she saw three men in uniform walking down the alleyway with guns. She pulled back, hiding out of the window-view. Now that she took a closer look at their uniforms, she realised they were only wearing green and black.

Suddenly, she gasped again when someone wrapped arms around her waist. She struggled to see who it was expecting Shego's soldiers but it was only the dream Ron. His hold was gentle and yet firm.

"Kim… don't leave me, you promised."

Kim's lip trembled, how horribly it reflected Reality. "You'll be fine," Kim replied, "I have to find_ my_ Ron." She tried to slip form his hold.

"_No_, Kim!" he sobbed, not wanting to let her go by clinging to her more tightly and burying his face into her red hair. "I'll _die_ without you! They'll find me! I don't know where to go."

Kim calmly walked away from his hold and towards the door, wondering where this one might lead. But first she listened, making sure no-one was on the other side. Opening the door, a portal to the hallway appeared.

She was about to step into the hallway when Ron grasped her hand. "_No!_ I'm begging you! Kim, stay here with me! I _need_ you, I thought you were dead and you came back to me! You weren't dead all this time—you said you would never leave me!"

Kim looked back at him, stepping towards the portal. She tried so hard to cover the pain in her voice at leaving this Ron behind. He may not be real, but his pleas to her were. The feeling to leave this Ron behind was strenuous, but she had to, for _her_ Ron. The _real_ one. "I can't, you're just a dream, you're not even real."

There were tears in the dream Ron's eyes and he began to cry, scrunching himself up, bringing his hands to his face. He looked so broken, dejected and beaten, how could Kim leave him on her own free will? But she had to remind herself, the more time she spent with this not-real Ron, the more time passed in Reality, ticking away to the end of the week when they would pull his plug, ending his life… _and_ hers. She really had to hurry now, Kim couldn't even count on Wade protecting them any more.

"I'm sorry, I have to g-"

She wasn't even able to finish her sentence when two of the soldiers Kim had seen below burst through the glass shattering everywhere with their guns at the ready, aiming them at her and Ron. Ron turned frantically to Kim, begging her to save him.

"_KIM!_"

Kim knew this place could be realistic from their short tryst on the bed, but she didn't know if she could die, after all, this wasn't her real body. And this Ron wasn't real either. But the terror… the soldiers shouted gruffly, grabbing Ron and throwing his skinny body to the ground. Ron cried out in pain, confusion and fright, screaming for Kim, his tears running in rivers down his freckled cheeks.

"_KIM, HELP ME!_"

"Ron!" Kim cried back. Torn between finding her real Ron and the agony of this dream-Ron, she tripped over herself as she tried to turn around and attempt a rescue. Instead, she fell through the portal and landed onto the carpet of the hallway. On the other side of the door, the soldiers didn't even look at her. It was if she had never been there to them.

But Ron was on the floor crying and screaming as one soldier struck down at him forcefully on the head with the butt of his machine gun and the other hooked a chain leash to his slave collar. All the time as be began to bleed from the wounds the soldier inflicted on him, he screamed for Kim, only her, her name over and over to save him, to keep her promise.

Despite all she had said and convinced herself that this Ron wasn't real, it was still too traumatic to watch and she screamed his name back. All too much for her, Kim stood up, staggering, hiding her face and tears into her hands, and turning away, she shut the door behind her, silencing Ron's dying screams. Only then she dropped to her knees, leaning against the closed door and cried.

-ø-

Through the disturbing events of what Kim had experienced, Kim now knew how realistic Ron's mind could be. What she had just been in had only been a _nightmare_, and yet it was more vivid than any nightmare Kim had ever experienced.

It took her awhile to gather up courage and enter more doors, imagining keys in her hands and keyholes on the doors. Pretty soon, Kim learned that the symbol with the cloud, Z and wavy lines meant it was one of Ron's _dreams_. A lightning bolt coming from the cloud indicated it was a nightmare. Even though she felt she ought to check every door, Kim couldn't bring herself to enter another one of his nightmares. No wonder Ron woke up in the middle of the night sometimes, sweating and fearful with panicked breathing, and Kim back then had just grunted at him to fall back asleep.

Kim had gone through a number of his dreams and couldn't locate her Ron, First Ron that is. The dreams she had passed through since that first nightmare were mild in their realism and some were quite amusing to Kim, most of them concerning mole-rats, Bueno Nacho and school. But she wasn't there to be amused; she was there to find Ron. After all, there was still the persuading for him to wake up to do once she found him.

Kim had just come out of a particularly strange dream, when the door adjacent to Kim that she was to enter next depicted a new symbol, all the rest had been dream or nightmare (she had continued to avoid those) symbols. This new symbol was one Kim wasn't familiar with.

The symbols were of two stars, the one on the left smaller than the other beside it. There was an arrow on top of the large star on the right pointing from it to the small one in a curve. Kim tilted her head at it with curiosity.

Reaching out for the doorknob, Kim slowly opened the door towards her. She wasn't sure what she would see on the other side, all she knew was that it wasn't a dream or a nightmare. It was…

A forest.

Within the portal was a forest, all Kim could see were tall pine trees, barely a breeze ruffling their low hanging branches. Shrugging, Kim decided to leave the door open behind her and step inside.

Instantly Kim was hit with a warmer temperature within the portal. Shielding her eyes, Kim lifted her head to peer at what sky she could see through the treetops. Through the above leaves, rays of golden light shone through, catching the bugs lazily flying in their light. It was summer, Kim surmised and so far there was no sign of any flying mole-rats (unlike the last dream).

Looking around, Kim didn't see anyone or anything and she began to wonder if she ought to head back, the door was still open behind her. It didn't seem like anyone was in here at all, not only that but she didn't even know what she was in if it wasn't a dream

Right when Kim turned around to leave, she heard voices shout out in the distance. Reflexes took hold and she flinched, ready to stand in a defensive position and fight. As the voices became louder and she was able to guess which direction they were coming from, Kim ran, black shoes kicking up dirt and hid behind a tree, pressing herself against it. Sitting down and holding her breath, she began to hear the sound of running feet and someone panting exhaustively.

"Get him!" a distance voice shouted out.

"He can't run from us forever!" another laughed.

"Don't worry, we'll catch the Squeeb!"

Laughter growing closer… Kim risked a glance around the tree trunk and saw a small figure push through the bushes, panting heavily, holding his side.

Kim shouldn't have been surprised to see Ron burst through the undergrowth, but she couldn't help but be startled to see him at a much younger age. All the Rons she had met in his dreams were of him in his current age, eighteen. Eyes wide, she watched him lurch into the clearing, trying to catch his breath as his skinny bare legs fought to keep him standing straight.

"Over here!" Kim hissed, peeking out from the tree trunk and waved him over. He didn't hear her.

The shouts and laughter from the group chasing him were now closer and Ron perked up, frightened. Thankfully, he ran towards her… then past her and dived into a hole in the bottom of a tree in front of Kim. There, Kim could still see Ron huddling inside, bunched up and fearful, gasping for air.

The sounds of the group crashing through the bushes alerted Kim that the bullies had arrived. Still hiding, Kim gasped when she recognised one boy in the group of six—it was Gil! He too was young, like Ron. She guessed they were perhaps eight years old. The other boys she did not know.

"Where'd he go?" one boy asked, kicking at some rocks and dirt.

"Probably to his cabin," one sneered.

"Or go crying to the camp councillor!" Gil cawed and the rest of the boys laughed with him. "Darn, he might tattle on us, we better go to the lake and pretend we were there the whole time."

"But the lake is so gross!" another boy countered.

Gil shot that boy a venomous look, a look that reminded Kim of his mutant glare. "Do we need to push _you_ into the snake pit too?"

"No, Gil, no!" the boy hastened, backing up. "The lake sounds like a great idea to me, really!"

"C'mon," Gil motioned for the boys to follow him, "Let's go before Ronnie comes crying back with the councillor at his side." The boys trudged back the way they came and only when their footsteps and voices vanished did Kim stand up and walk over to the eight year-old Ron hiding inside the tree hole.

Kim stood against the tree and bent down to look into the hole, it was much too large for her to be able to hide in. "Hey," she said soothingly to the Ron inside. She could hear his heavy, rapid breathing and a gasp. "Come out, it's safe now"

Ron didn't move, he only scrunched himself up tighter, burying his head into his arms around his knees.

"Don't cry," Kim sat down on her legs, trying to coax Ron out. "If they come back, I'll chase 'em away for ya!"

Even though he didn't look at her, he nervously slunk out easily from the tree hole and patted the dirt off his body.

Now that he was standing in front of her, she was able to take a good look at him. Yes, eight or perhaps nine years old. How strange it was to be beside Ron at such a young age! He was so very small, his eyes wide in a perpetual spook and his freckles dotting his face as they always had. Ron stood up, stretching his back and looked in the direction where the boys had left. He sniffed, although Kim saw no tears. She almost giggled to herself, she couldn't help but admit how adorable he looked, she had never noticed that when she had been this age with him.

"Want me to walk you back?" Kim asked.

Ron said nothing, again he didn't even look at her. Instead, he walked in the opposite direction that the boys had left. Standing up, Kim felt a strange force compelling her to follow him. Giving in to that force, she trekked after him without saying anything and pretty soon they reached a cabin near the woods edge. It was a cabin she recognised.

Kim had seen it once before, it was Cabin Thirteen, the one Ron had spent his summer living in at Camp Wannaweep! That summer, they had been separated for so long when Ron's Mother had sent him off to this place. Before that summer, Ron had been cheerful and always upbeat, if a little on the nervous side. But when he came back, he returned a very different person. He became scared of everything and was constantly worried. It had been something Kim thought Ron would have grown out of. He never had.

She had never known the full story about Ron's stay at the abhorred camp, only the small story here and there about why he was afraid of a particular something. It was like all his fears had come from this camp.

_Doesn't look so bad_, Kim thought. At the edge of the forest where she and little Ron stood beside Cabin Thirteen, Kim was able to see a full view of the entire camp. The sun shone brightly and merrily on the camp, the Camp Wannaweep flag waved very limply in the air on the flagpole. Kim saw the other cabins distanced from the lonely Cabin Thirteen. She also spotted the Mess Hall and the Councillor's office. To the left was the infamous lake (but not as green as Kim remembered it to be) coupled with the Arts and Crafts hut. Running around were campers, adults could be seen watching them. What was so bad about this place?

_Other than Gil and his friends bullying Ron and supposedly pushing him into a snake pit…_

"Hey, Ron…" Kim said and reached out to place her hand on his shoulder when… her hand passed _right_ through him. "Whoah!" she cried, recoiling. She gazed at her hand and then at Ron beside her. No wonder he had said nothing to her… he… he couldn't hear her… couldn't even see her!

This was no dream, this could only be…

_A memory_, she thought, looking all around herself. _I'm in one of his memories…_

Ron beside her was also eyeing the camp, but much more warily than Kim was. Finally he fell into step again and Kim felt that forceful tug to follow him over to Cabin Thirteen. He didn't go in, however. Instead he stood on the tips of his toes and peered inside his Cabin. Despite her unnerving discovery that she had landed into one of his memories, Kim smiled down at him, she didn't have to stand on the tips of her toes. Ron came to about the end of Kim's ribcage.

Curious, Kim shielded her eyes from her reflection and peered into the window.

She blanched.

There had been _no_ exaggeration in Ron's description of Cabin Thirteen. Repulsed, pulling back her lip in horror, Kim looked inside the Cabin seeing insects crawling everywhere.

"That's disgusting!" she cried out. Not just in the corners, but wriggling and crawling on the floor, inching their way in and out the cracks of the wood walls, a few zooming across the walls. And the councillor's expected a kid to _live_ in there! And… _sleep_! Bugs didn't generally bother Kim, she always told Ron 'just flick them', but this… you couldn't even pay Kim to sleep a night in that Cabin! No wonder he was absolutely terrified of the creepy-crawlies!

But that wasn't all. On the top bunk to the right was a large furry _something_. Frowning, she realised the furry something was _breathing_. Then an arm lifted from its body to scratch its repulsive side, as it did, Kim watched ticks fly from its body.

_Oh… that must be Bobo the Chimp, Ron told me about! He said he had to share a cabin with a tick-infested chimp… ohmigosh…_ She squinted as the beast turned around and yawned, flexing its sharp teeth and hissing at a bug flying too close. Again, Ron hadn't exaggerated.

The little Ron beside her pulled away from the window, looking troubled (she didn't blame him!) and walked calmly away, hands behind his back. Prudently eyeing the inside of the cabin through the window, Kim raced to follow him.

He led her down a slope, passing some other campmates. When he passed them, they turned from him, whispering to one another to laugh and eye Ron. Kim sent the campers dirty looks and tried to look like an imposing body guard. They never noticed her.

It took her awhile, but Kim soon realised that Ron was leading her to the Councillor's cabin. As he approached, Kim noticed Ron pull out something from his pocket. He halted outside the door, holding what was an envelope close to him, a faint smile spreading across his face. Taking in a deep breath, he reached up to open the doorknob and stepped inside.

There were seats like a waiting room in front of a desk where a camp councillor sat at a computer, another more beefy one in a blue cap and white shirt stood, leaning against the desk talking to the other. They both turned when the door opened and looked down at Ron.

The councillor with the blue hat sighed, "What is it, Stoppable?"

"I wrote another letter," Ron replied, still holding it close.

_"Another_ one?" the councillor asked. The one at the desk rolled his eyes and began typing at the computer.

Ron nodded insistently and handed him the envelope. "She has to know what's going on, I promised I'd stay in touch," he nodded, his bright brown eyes eager. "She'd get mad at me if I didn't."

"Ok, we'll mail this one to your friend right away. Don't worry," his tone sounded like he was mocking Ron and yet Ron didn't catch on. The one at the computer chuckled.

Ron attempted a smile and murmured a thanks. Before leaving, he turned around and added, "You really should cover up that snake pit. It's… it's easy to fall into."

Kim snorted, _You didn't fall in._

"And we keep telling you, Stoppable," the councillor replied with false sweetness. "There is no snake pit."

"We'd get pulled for that," the one at the computer added in an undertone.

Ron's face fell, he looked upset again. Whenever he looked so, Kim felt the impulse to gather him into a great big hug. He opened his mouth to reply but the councillor cut him off.

"Go _outside_, Stoppable. Have some _fun_, you're at _summer_ camp. Not _boot_ camp."

Looking defeated, Ron left the cabin without another word. Before the forceful pull to follow came, Kim looked back at the councillors. Ron didn't notice, but they were laughing and the letter that Ron was so insistent to mail to her… that the camp councillor _promised_ to mail… was thrown in the trash.

_That's not right!_ Kim thought adamantly as Ron walked sullenly in front of her. _They shouldn't throw it away! Either mail the darn thing or tell him they don't mail letters! Oh, poor, Ron. You must have thought me mean to never write you back… how was I supposed to know?_

Ron walked down another path travelling up the slope towards Cabin Thirteen but turned right instead of left. Shielding her eyes from the sun, Kim saw a pay phone attached to a tree, she remembered using it when they had been stranded at Camp Wannaweep a couple of years ago. Back then, the phone and been cut off.

Ron picked it up and slid in a quarter, turning the dial of the old payphone, Kim recognised he was dialling his home phone number. They could both hear the ring-ringings of the phone and then the click that someone had picked up the phone on the other end.

"Hi, Mom," Ron said, holding the phone close. There was a pause. "Yes, I know I called this morning. … Well, the bullies… they pushed me into a pit full of snakes because I wouldn't let them read my letter—what? Er, I mean: Pardon?" Kim couldn't hear what his Mother was saying to him on the other line, even if she sat leaning as close to Ron and the phone as she could.

"Yes, I'm playing with the others. … W-well… yea, yes, I'm playing the sports with the other boys. I'm not very good at it and they always kick the ball _at_ me not _to_ me—Yes. Yes. Yes."

Kim wished she could hear what his Mother was saying to him.

"I know. I try to be. … I remember. … But it wasn't my fault! I didn't _want_ Kim to paint the nail polish on my nails, she just did it when I fell asleep after the movie— … I know. But I miss her. … Mom, she's my _best_ friend and-- … Friends? Here? Um… I _try_ to. Um… No…" Another long pause. "I'll try… I _will_. Wait—Mom… d-do you know if Kim's been getting my letters? I mail one every day, she should have—Yes… yes, Mom, I know you're busy. … I-I… I'm sorry. Bye… I miss you. … Yes, I miss Dad too. Ok. I will. Yes. I do. Ok. Bye…"

Ron hung up the phone and sighed heavily. From what Ron had said, Kim could form a good idea at what his Mother had told him. She cringed at the memory of painting Ron's nails when he had fallen asleep after the movie. Her parents had been upstairs and she and Ron had been left downstairs alone. Kim had revealed nail polish that a friend at elementary school had given her, it wasn't generally allowed in Kim's household back then, her parents thinking she was too young for it. While the movie had played, she did her own nails and, well, it had been too tempting at the time when she saw Ron asleep beside her.

Her parents had _not_ been thrilled with them, especially her. Apparently his parents hadn't been pleased either… and took it the wrong way too. Currently, Kim winced.

Ron stared down at the dirt, scuffing it with his shoe looking miserable. All he wanted to do was go back home and spend his summer with his best and _only _friend: Kim. But here he was, stuck at this atrocious camp and his own Mother wouldn't let him come home despite his pleas. No wonder this place held so many bad memories for Ron.

Sniffling, little Ron looked up and walked back down the slope and headed left towards the Arts and Crafts cabin. He had told Kim before that he had spent most of his time there making things.

When they reached the cabin, Ron stepped inside, looking around himself nervously again. It was fairly large inside the craft hut, with two large wooden tables on either side able to seat more than ten campers at a time all around. There were a few campers already there, mostly girls making friendship bracelets with one another. A camp councillor stood on the other side by the sink helping to wash out some bowls.

When Ron entered, the councillor turned around and smiled, "Hello, Ron, come to make some more potholders for your friend?" she asked.

"No," Ron replied simply, heading towards a cabinet. He had to pull over a chair and stand on it to reach the top shelf. "I'm going to make her some more lanyards to-day."

The councillor walked over to him and helped to pull down the rope for Ron. "Did she tell you what colours she liked?"

Ron stepped off the chair, looking up at the councillor. "I don't know, she hasn't replied to any of them yet… I send her three lanyards and two potholders in the second letter, I thought maybe she'd have replied by now…"

"She's probably just busy," the councillor smiled down at him, handing him rope of all colours.

"But we're best friends," Ron insisted, "Who would she be busy with?"

"Make her some more lanyards, different colours."

"Okay, for the next letter I send her."

She smiled down at Ron, "Exactly!" She turned and headed back to the girls making their friendship bracelets. Ron sat on a nearby sofa and began to thread his lanyard for Kim.

_Wow,_ Kim thought, sitting down on the sofa beside him and watching. _I never knew, Ron… no wonder you looked a little displeased to see me when you came back! I thought maybe you were just tired. _Fury grew in her mind at that councillor who had just thrown away Ron's letter to her. That was hers! How dare they!_ I'll get him to make me a new lanyard for Christmas,_ she thought. _I'll tell him what colours I like and everything. We can make it up that way._ _… _If_ you decide to change around and admit you were wrong… _

She continued to watch the young Ron, his tongue sticking out as he put all his concentration into making Kim her lanyard. Kim wished the memory was like a dream, that she could interact with Ron and tell him she never received any of his letters. How disheartened and yet determined he looked to make this little craft for her even though she had, in Ron's mind, 'ignored his letters'. Ron was so determined that this one would bring a letter to him all the way out here, alone and bullied.

Kim wasn't even sure why she had followed this Ron when it was obvious _her_ Ron wasn't here. _I'm wasting time!_ She stood up. _While I'm here with this Ron, the real one is elsewhere, I keep getting sidetracked. I can't let this happen again!_

She fled to the door looking back at younger Ron, he oblivious to her watching him. _At least I understand you a little better…_ Kim opened the door expecting to see the campgrounds and run back to the door in the forest, but as soon as she opened it, the portal to the hallway appeared and she stepped inside with a shrug.

Closing the door, she looked at the star and arrow symbols. "That must mean it's a memory," she murmured.

The next door down the hall showed that it was a dream… except this one also had a lightning bolt coming from the cloud. Kim hung back, knowing it was a nightmare. She knew she really ought to be checking _every_ portal, not just the good ones. Besides, hadn't the Ron at the reception desk said that he could be trapped in a nightmare as well? It made sense in any case. Kim bit her lower lip, still hanging back. The first and last nightmare had been so grisly disturbing in its realism; she didn't want to go through that trauma again. But just out of curiosity, Kim opened the door to glimpse the scene.

Before her, the hallways of Middleton High shimmered inside the portal.

_Looks ok…_ Kim contemplated. _Certainly doesn't look like the _last_ nightmare. _She knew it was going to come back to bite her, but she couldn't stop herself from thinking: _How bad could this one be?_ and stepped inside.

Right as she stepped through the following words slapped her face:

"I could hold your hand forever!"

Kim stood slack-jawed as she saw her own self standing beside Josh. The her in the dream was gazing dreamily up at Josh Mankey as if he were her entire world. Then the two took each others hands and walked peacefully down the hallway, the dream-Kim's head resting against Josh's shoulder.

Kim had been here before.

_She_ had this dream! When their hands had been attached, this had been _her_ dream! How did Ron have the same dream! Kim had been standing just over there and…

Ron. Ron was standing where she had been when Kim had had this dream. He stood there, looking downright deflated and heartbroken. He stood watching the dream-Kim and Josh walk away and then out of view… together.

_This… this was never my dream._ Kim thought, stunned. _This was Ron's. And I… I shared it. No wonder it had been like no other dream I had ever had before. No wonder it felt like I couldn't control myself! I was in him in his dream! Oh, Ron…He does like me, it only confirms what I know of him from the letter. _

_This is where the dream should end, where I woke up…_

And yet suddenly, the Ron turned and met Kim's eyes. They both froze, unable to blink, speak, or even breathe. Not that either of them really _did_ breathe, Ron being a dream figment and Kim being only her conscious mind.

"Kim..?"

That's right! Kim forgot after just coming out of Ron's memory that dreams could recognise her, that she could interact with them.

"Ron…"

"I…" he looked back in the direction that the dream-version of herself had just disappeared in. "You just left…"

"…" she didn't know what to say. In fact, she didn't know if her being here would actually alter Ron's dreams. If when he woke up and reflected on these dreams, would her imprint be left in them? Or would the dreams return to how they had originally been, without her? Perhaps they would keep her imprint… after all his mind wouldn't let her interact with a memory… If she could interact with a dream and have Ron remember her having been there … Perhaps she could begin her 'changing' of Ron now, to help him be less confused around girls… around Kim.

Ron hung back, looking nervous. Neither of them really knew what to say.

"But I'm here with you right now," Kim attempted conversationally.

Ron leaned back against his locker. "Why? I… I thought you liked Josh… you just walked away with him."

"Just because I walked away with Josh doesn't mean I'm not here for you." She had to remember this dream took place _before_ they split apart. "You know… I heard what Wade said to you on the computer."

"O-oh?"

"Yea," Kim crossed the hall and leaned against the locker beside Ron, looking at him. "He was angry because you didn't 'do' anything to…"

"To make you like me…" Ron finished, looking away. He didn't blush, but he sounded embarrassed that she had overheard.

"You know, Ron," Kim said, glad he had begun this topic. "You don't really have to do anything to make me like you."

Ron looked at her, frowning. "How else are you gonna like me? I just saw you walk away with Josh! And… and you said…"

"It's just a dream, Ron. You can't treat me in Reality how you perceive me from a dream."

Ron appeared very confused by this.

"I've said this to you before, 'just be yourself'. Don't…" Australia flashed back to her. "Don't say… or _do_ something because…" _Augh, getting tongue-tied…_ "Ron, I think if I'm going to like you, I should like you for you. Not because you're subliminally forcing me to like you." There was a pause. "How do you think I'd feel? If I ever found out you were manipulating me to like you?"

"Not manipulating!" Ron insisted, "I just want to… to make you _realise_ I'm here, y'know? Realise that… that I'm a guy too."

Kim crossed her arms, regarding Ron through low-hanging hair. She wanted to say 'I'd sure call getting or hands stuck together, forcing yourself on me, spiking my drink and so much more is manipulating!' but remembered none of that had ever happened yet.

"But you like Josh," Ron went on, "If you're all fevering for him, how can you see me? I won't exist like… like _that_ to you."

Kim opened her mouth then held her tongue. Turning away, she flushed. It wasn't something she wanted to admit but… but wasn't Ron _right_? Kim did recall how much she had fluttered around Josh and when she did, everything around her no longer existed. Once, when she had been talking to Josh, she had completely forgotten Ron had even been standing beside her until he spoke. If Ron liked Kim and wanted her to know it while she was swooning and batting her eyelashes coquettishly at Josh, what was Ron supposed to do?

"You could just tell me," she said.

Ron snorted. "Like, what? Just stand up in front of you and say 'YO, KP, I like you even though you're so totally into Josh! Let's make out!'? Ok, one," Ron held up a finger, "Guys just don't do things like that. No. Two," he held up another finger, "What kind of friend would I be if I did that? I don't think I'd be a very good one. You come first, you always did, especially our friendship-"

"I know," Kim replied softly, remembering his letter.

"I'm not going to force myself on you-"

"What?"

Ron double blinked and repeatedly stupidly, "Um, 'I'm not going to force myself on you'?"

"Really, Ron?" she pressed, trying to hold down her anger and again remembering the boulder incident. "You never would do that to me? _Ever_?"

Ron's eyes widened, "O-of course not, KP! If you don't like-like me then I'm not going to force you, I'd never do that, pfft. That's why… that's why I want to try to do other things to make you see me."

"Like what?" Kim mumbled. She was now feeling sore and she held her arm looking downcast.

Her eyes darted to Ron and when they did, she saw him smiling encouragingly at Kim. "Be there for you!" he said brightly, "Like always!"

"But if it's like always…" Kim replied slowly, "Then how will I 'see' you if I never have before."

Ron stared forwards, his eyes glimmering with determination, "I just have to try harder. Be there for you even if you're fevering for Josh. Be there for you and maybe you'll see me. I know… I know you'll see me sometime through everything I do for you. What else can I do?"

"Um… imitate something from a movie..?"

He gave her a questioning look.

"Like… would you…" she didn't know how to say this. It was hard to bring up his attack on her, hard to see this Ron beside her doing the things that he would eventually do to her. Maybe she should just drop it. "Never mind…"

When she looked at him again she was startled to see how intently he was looking into her eyes. "I'd said I'd never force you. I want you to be happy first but I just… want you to at least _know_ I exist, right? Then it's your decision."

"I… oh."

"If you want Josh, that's cool. I lived this long, right? But at least I can say 'at least I tried' rather than beating myself up for never doing anything."

"That's a good way to approach it."

Kim bristled and felt tension in the air. So real was this Ron and his speech to her that she could have sworn this was her Ron, not a dream-Ron. It had to be him… it just had to be…

When she faced him again, she was startled to see him now standing so close. So close that their shoulders touched. Just like the other dream-Ron, this one felt so real…

"Can I ask you a question?" he asked softly.

"Uh… y-yes. Of course you can." She laughed nervously, "You don't have to ask to ask."

A faint smile on his face for that. "Do you think you'd ever _like_-like me? Ever?"

"Ron..." His expression was so penetrating and intense. His eyes were boring directly into hers and she felt herself shiver. The eye-locks they'd had recently had always been saddening, always full of hate, depression and longing. This… had much of the same, but was also desperate… and no hate. Only…

"Yes," Kim replied, her voice barely a whisper. "I would, I could. But…"

"But?" Ron cringed and she saw himself shrivel like whenever he felt scared.

"_But_," Kim continued, smiling, "Only if you keep that promise to me." He lifted his head to her. "Not to force me, not to manipulate or hurt. Keep that promise and be the Ron who you always are. That'll be the Ron that I can _like_-like."

"I will, definitely, I always have and always will! Now that's a promise I can totally keep. Thanks, KP."

"I-I have to go now. I'm on a mission. But cheer up, I'm sure… everything will be ok. Eventually." Kim stood up and headed back to the portal door across the hall.

Ron gazed at her and she could see the adoration in his eyes. "If you say it, then I'll believe it, KP. What mission are you on? Can I come?"

"No," Kim faltered, a hand on the doorway. "Not this time, this one I have to do on my own. The mission? To save you, of course," she winked and leapt through the portal, closing the door behind her.

-ø-

Kim had gone through a number of dreams, memories and nightmares, even down a dark desolate hallway that held many of Ron's supressed memories (she had only gone into a few of those doors...), she even accidentally stumbled across a fantasy or two (yes, she had a _lot_ to discuss with Ron) and so far she had not found First Ron. It was growing wearisome, this searching for Ron. Honestly, Kim had _no_ clue how much time had passed in the outside world all she knew was that she had searched through _much_ of Ron's mind and hadn't found him yet.

It was when she stumbled out of another strange dream and was about to the open the door in front of it did things change. She blinked in confusion. Another new symbol. It wasn't a dream nor a nightmare or memory… and definitely was _not_ a fantasy.

The symbol was a film reel.

_Now what could _that_ mean?_ She asked herself. With a shrug, she opened the door… and froze.

There was no portal.

Like the door she had opened back in the reception room to the hallway, inside this door was a room. In fact, the room was… _A cinema? _Truly! Opening the door she was on top of the slope, the seats all in rows below her and the walls a deep crimson red with low yellow lights. There was a large screen set up before the audience of one, on the screen was what appeared to be a memory playing of Kim and Ron when they were five or six years old in her room playing a board game.

Or was that audience of _two_?

A blonde head with a scruffy cowlick was barely visible behind a seat in the front row. Her imagination took over and she felt her 'heart' thud inside her chest. Could she have _finally_ found her Ron! Or was this Ron something else? Like the one at the reception desk?

"Ron?" she said, her voice suddenly deciding to go hoarse on her. "Ron?" she called more loudly. Perhaps he couldn't hear her while she stood outside the room. But it was just a doorway and not a portal unlike the others.

She entered the room, "Ron!" she called again. This time she saw him react to his name, he… he was turning around! Kim took a step forwards to run towards him when the right exit door burst open.

Kim gasped and recoiled, the Ron down in the front row doing this same. He stood up and backed a few feet away from the people who had just burst into the movie theatre.

"There he is!" cried one of the people who burst in.

Kim did a double take and realised that all the people who burst in were Rons.

"Yea, ok, not feeling comfortable right now…" she told herself.

The Rons who had burst in ran after the Ron who had been seated in the theatre. That Ron was wearing his red shirt with the navy sleeves and turtleneck. He backed away again and then ran as fast as he could towards the exit on the left side.

_No!_ Kim thought furiously as she saw the Ron, the Ron she swore was _her_ Ron, streak for the exit. _If that's really you, then I'm not about to lose you! It took me this long to find you!_

As she thought this, Kim imagined her backpack on her back and it instantly was, from there, she pulled out her grappling hook and fired it into the ceiling. Pulling the retract button, she leapt into the air and whizzed forwards, keeping one had free, ready to grab whom she hoped was 'First Ron'.

"Ron!" she cried again.

Ron didn't even look up at her; her voice was drowned out by the Rons that perused him. Kim missed him as he ran by her underneath so she swung back again, ready for another attempt to snatch him. But it was too late!

"Don't let him escape this time!" one of the Rons cried as Ron disappeared out the exit door.

"Damn!" Kim swore as the Rons successfully chased Ron out of the room. Kim hit the button to let go but by being distracted by Ron's escape, she forgot she was at the highpoint of her swing. Like the chandelier that she had crashed down on the monkey-beast, Kim crashed down on an angle… and landed right into the memory portal on the movie screen.

"Auughh…" Kim groaned. She was on the floor on her stomach as she sat herself up, rubbing her head. She may be in a memory, but wow, it, like the dreams, sure _felt_ realistic.

Sniffing and continuing to rub her head, Kim sat up and looked around herself. Apparently, Kim had landed into her own bedroom. While the room itself was familiar, the décor was from a long ago memory. Everything was in a different place than where it was now in her room, plus there were toys visible, like a toy kitchen in one corner.

Then she spotted a five or six year old Ron sitting on the floor. Tilting her head and observing him, she watched as he cleaned up the pieces from a board game he must have been playing with her younger self. The six year old Kim wasn't present in the memory, perhaps she had gone downstairs to wait for Ron to clean up the board game; she used to make Ron clean up if he lost, which he always did.

When Ron was finished, he slid the board game under her bed and headed down the loft stairs. Like the Camp Wannaweep memory, Kim felt the familiar tug to trail after him as he ran down the hall and down the stairs into the living room. He looked like he was going to head into the living room, but voices from the kitchen could be heard speaking. Naturally, this gained Ron interest and instead he headed left. Ron stopped behind the kitchen wall and pressed himself against it to eavesdrop.

Kim recognised the voices instantly they belonged to her Mother and Mrs Stoppable. Interestingly, this wasn't a memory she knew. Turning around, Kim spotted herself, her hair up in a ponytail in a purple dress. Her younger self was preoccupied by a cartoon on TV.

"I can't thank you enough for allowing Ron to stay for so long everyday after school," Mrs Stoppable said to Kim's Mother. Peeking around the corner, the two women were sitting with a cup of coffee in hand each at the breakfast table.

"Oh, it's no problem at all," Mrs Possible replied genially as always. "It's a pleasure to have him around. He's so rambunctious and Kimmie just loves having him over."

Dry laughter from Mrs Stoppable: "Perhaps a little _too_ rambunctious at times. It's so hard sometimes to watch over him while I'm doing my work. He'll knock something over or start drawing on the walls or put something in his mouth he's not supposed to and… he can be a constant distraction," she sighed.

Ron hiding on the other side of the kitchen couldn't see the two Mothers, but Kim could; she watched her Mother nod slowly. Kim sat down on the carpet on the opposite side of the kitchen entrance from Ron.

"Some children have so much energy when they're young. Kimmie can be energetic too."

"But you don't have problems like I do, do you?" Mrs Stoppable questioned, "You're a working Mother too, I don't understand how you do it."

"It isn't always easy," Mrs Possible agreed, her voice sincere. "But you love your child for who they are. And they're young, they'll learn to mellow out."

Mrs Stoppable nodded, taking a sip from her cup of coffee. "You and James were happy to have a child?"

"Oh yes, very," Mrs Possible smiled back, "I was especially happy when I found out Kimmie would be a girl." She chuckled softly, "James immediately went to go paint her room pink and kept bringing home the wrong shades! 'Not coral pink', I'd tell him, '_baby_ pink, we're having a _baby_'!"

Mrs Stoppable laughed too, "That's sweet."

"What about you?" Kim's Mother asked.

Ron's Mother heaved a sigh and took another sip from her cup. "Quite the opposite for us… I'll tell you the truth, we never intended on having a child. We both knew we led busy lives and there was never a plan for one. It just happened… then it was just one pit fall after another."

Kim gasped, glancing at the young Ron across from her. He also gasped and held back, his eyes shimmering with tears.

"What do you mean?" her Mother asked gently.

"Well, we weren't initially happy, but we were 'fine, ok, a child. We'll deal with it, what else can we do? Let's hope it's a girl'. And then he turned out to be a boy. Then he acquires so much attention, he isn't an easy child at all, it's like he was born just to interfere with our lives."

"Oh," Mrs Possible gasped, "That's so… I'm sorry. You know he's welcome here any time."

"I can't wait until he's older and can take care of himself but even _that_ seems unlikely. I buy him things to occupy his mind and still he persists on being around me even while I work. Interrupting me, asking questions, getting into trouble… It's why I'm so thankful that you care for him at your place for much more than you should. I should be_ paying_ you for all that you've done, it's the only way I can get any work done is if he's over here."

"You never have to pay us," Mrs Possible replied, setting her cup down on the table. "It pleases us to see him and Kimmie having fun together. You may feel that he was…"

"An accident."

"Yes, but I believe he was born for a reason. We just have to wait and see what that reason is."

"If he brings in millions, I'll be happy," Mrs Stoppable, sighed, leaning her cheek into her palm.

Kim's Mother chuckled softly, "I think every parent thinks that of their child."

Ron across from Kim backed away, now looking like he was going to full out cry. Kim slowly shook her head from side to side as she watched him stumble and try to comprehend what his _own_ Mother had just said about him… that he was never meant to be, that his Mother felt all he did was cause trouble for her… that… no-one wanted him…

"But _I_ do!" Kim called to the small, timid Ron across from her. "_I_ do, Ron! Just because your Mom says those things doesn't mean that somebody else-"

Ron dashed from his hiding spot and towards the sitting room where her six year-old self sat with the television remote in hand. Ron scrambled onto the sofa next to the young Kim, trying to wipe away his tears before young-Kim saw them.

Now Kim knew this memory.

Stunned, Kim murmured, trailing after Ron. "Oh no…"

"Ron?" Young Kim said, turning her attention from the cartoon show to Ron. She studied him for a moment and then a smile spread across her face. "Are you _crying_?"

"No!" Ron retorted, sniffling and trying to wipe away the tears that continued to flow.

"Yes you are!" Kim crowed, "You're crying because you _lost_!"

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes you are! Ron, you're _such_ a cry-baby, y'know?" Ron flinched. "I can't believe you! _Crying_ just because you lost some silly board game? No-one wants to be friends with a cry-baby, Ron," Young Kim continued to smile, teasing her friend. Then she said loftily, crossing her arms, "_I'm_ not going to be your friend if you _cry_ every time you lose, it's so embarrassing! No wonder no one wants to play with you at school!"

Young Kim flounced off the sofa and pranced across the living room and into the kitchen where her and Ron's parents sat talking about him. Ron sat on the sofa, the tears hadn't stopped flowing from his eyes. He sobbed, sniffling and scrunched himself into the corner of the sofa, wrapping his arms around his legs. Both he and Kim heard herself say to her Mother coming from the kitchen, "Ron's _crying_ again cos he lost another game! He's such a baby!"

Kim sat on the sofa next to Ron, her jaw hanging. She couldn't believe herself… she couldn't believe that she had been so cruel to him. Ron began to cry and he rolled over, burying his face into a pillow. Barely, Kim heard him say, his voice muffled: "No-one wants me…"

"I do!" Kim cried, standing up in a flurry begging and burning inside of herself to be heard. "I said _I do!_ This is in the past Ron!"

If it was memories like this Ron had been replaying in his mind while he was in the coma, then no wonder he had not awaken yet. Was _that_ why he hadn't awoken? Did he feel as if no-one wanted him anymore? That… _was he waiting for the plug to be pulled!_ Did he really want to… to…

_Do you _really_ want to die, Ron? _

But what about the _good_ times she and Ron had had? Why wasn't he remembering and viewing those! Why wasn't it memories like those willing him to awaken?

_I have to find him! I was so close last time, so close! I need to get out of here!_

Twirling around, Kim spied the front door and imagined that it would be a portal to take her back to the hallway, or even better, the movie theatre. Then she could chase after Ron through the exit.

_Why not remember the good times, Ron! Why not those? Do they mean nothing to y-_

Suddenly the world around her began to pulsate and break apart. Kim flinched, instincts once again taking a hold of her. She backed up, watching the world around her begin twitch violently and spasm.

"What's going on!" she blurted out.

She shielded herself as the world around her couldn't decide on what it was trying to do. Abruptly, colours started to blaze all around her, mostly red, some where blue and yellow; more yellow and a bright flaring, burning red. The image around her began to flicker like a bad television reception.

What was going on! Why was this happening? Where was it coming from why now and not before?

Hastily Kim felt an invisible force tug at her from her waist, a _different_ force that compelled her to follow Ron in her memories. This one felt more… alive. It was as if it was trying to throw her away from the memory. Throw her _out_ of the memory. As the bright waves of light charged all around her, blurring her image that flickered and twitched convulsively, another sharp tug threw Kim off her feet and she felt herself being dragged away.

"What in the..! What's going on? ERGH!" Kim groaned as she fought the invisible force intent on throwing her out, it felt angered and indigent to her existence here, the way the image spazzed and the way the angry colours flashed and then another round of sharp forceful tugs to get her _OUT_.

It was useless to fight it no matter how much she tried and scrabbled, clinging to the ground. She fought to twist herself around to at least see where the force was dragging her to. It was… nothing! Nothing, everything all around her was one large _mess_ created by this incensed force and yet….

The more she resisted the harder the tugs became, so hard that one again threw her a distance into the air and before she could recover, it threw her again… threw her out a portal that had impulsively appeared out of nowhere and tossed her into a blinding white light….

Kim was glad to be out of _there_. Standing up, she dusted herself off and studied her new surroundings. She was… nowhere. The ground, the above and all around was nothing but a white void like that she had first fallen into when she had entered Ron's mind. Kim looked at the 'ground' warily and took a tentative step forwards. Whatever she stood on, it was firm. Turning around again and again, Kim saw no doors, no portals.

Lifting her hands, Kim looked down at them and tried to imagine a key in her hand. It appeared but then… it flickered away quite suddenly. It was that force that had pulled her here that stole the imagined key from her hand. Kim again tried to re-imagine the key, it disappeared again, more quickly then the first. She frowned.

Setting her sights forwards, she imagined a door. But again, it appeared and then flickered away, the force stealing the door from her. She tried again, then again and again and again until the force became so fed up that she felt as if it had… had just given a blow to her face. She stood stunned, a hand to her cheek. Had that been its version of a_ slap_? How dare it!

Narrowing her eyes, she held her hands up in fists, threatening the invisible force around her. Even though she couldn't see it, she _felt _it all around her, filling the void as she once had before she imagined a body for herself to reside in. Uncontrollably, she shivered as she felt it watch her.

"What do you want!" she cried. "I'm busy here! I'm trying to find Ron and I only have-"

She stopped in mid sentence. Something… something in the distance was speeding towards her rapidly. Gasping, Kim rolled to the left to avoid collision with whatever it was and stood with her arms up ready to fight.

It was a memory, a memory in a small mini screen and it stopped right in front of her face. Lowering her arms, Kim looked at it curiously. This force… wanted her to see this memory…

The image was Ron, his current age and he was sitting in what Kim recognised to be his bathroom. He was on the floor, huddled with his large blue comforter around him. Ron was shivering and crying as if he had been doing so for hours, Kim's heart went out to him instantly. She even lifted a hand to the Ron on the screen, but held back as she watched with grim fascination.

Ron's teeth chattered and he convulsed, throwing up into the toilet next to him. Kim let out a cry and reached out for him just as she heard him murmur her name!

_When is this?_ Kim thought, _When _was_ this! Why wasn't I there?_

As soon as she thought that, she felt the force around her put pressure into the void, onto her conscious mind, it made Kim flinch. A rushing sound and Kim whipped around and saw another memory-screen fly at her, stopping just around her. While the new one started to play, the one of Ron coughing, crying and retching continued.

This new one was of Ron and Kim walking up a dirt covered path, a rocky slope with a violently blazing sun burning them. _Australia!_ Kim thought, _This… this is the Australian mission! Right before he tried to… No, I don't want to watch this again! _

The image was viewed from behind Ron's head as he climbed. There was a sound that could be heard and the Ron in the video lifted his head as did the 'camera', looking up. Kim saw two of Drakken's red-clad henchmen pushing a boulder off the highest peek of the cliff. It… Ron looked down at Kim, then back at the boulder. _It's going to run me over if I don't avoid it!_ She thought.

And then understanding hit her.

The boulder…

"No…"

Kim watched dumbstruck as Ron, looking ready to collapse, gathered his remaining strength and ran forwards, pushing the Kim in this memory into a crevice, trying to squeeze himself in as well.

The boulder had never saved her from Ron.

Ron had saved her from the _boulder_.

"No! No… No, that can't be! That _can't_!" Again, the force around put pressure into the void, it pressed angrily on Kim's mind, rather than her imagined body. "No! I… How could I have been wrong all this time? Stop, ok, stop, I get it! I know what happens after this, take it away!"

But the force didn't take the memory away. Cruelly, it continued to play the memory (and the one of Ron in his bathroom all alone). The memory of Kim screaming against Ron who was actually trying to save her life, struggling to fit his own self in so he wouldn't be crushed either, wouldn't stop no matter how much Kim begged the force to stop playing it. Kim in the memory struggled and lashed out at Ron as Kim watching could see the boulder tumbling down the hill, coming closer and closer and…

"No!" Kim cried, "Stop, stop! I _know_ what happens next!"

The force didn't stop and Kim tried to look away, as soon as she attempted this, the force struck a blow to her back much like the 'slap' it had given her earlier, forcing her forwards to open her eyes and watch as memory-Kim shoved Ron away from her.

((_"Let go of me…you…you RAPIST!_")) Kim heard herself scream.

"No!" she cried, "You're not, you're not!"

But it had already happened. It was something she had already done. All Kim could do was watch in horror as the boulder streaked by tearing Ron's back, ripping his clothing and flesh. She watched in horror, her hands to her mouth as his blood tore into the air, splattering the ground and rock face and then his _scream_. His scream ripped through the silence all around Kim and she cried out, stumbling away from the memory.

"I didn't know! I _didn't know_! I thought he was trying to… to force himself on me to make me like him! I- _Augh_!"

Again, the force all around Kim weighed down harder on her mind, as if trying to compress her and it was _painful_. It pressed her hard and caused her to flinch and even for her imagined body to flicker. Right as she was opening her eyes as the force lifted somewhat, from behind, another memory came to Kim, rushing forwards.

She gasped, frightened at what she was about to be shown next. "No…"

((_"I didn't save you because I like you," Kim pulled out a tissue and handed it to Ron. "Don't wipe your blood on your shirt. It's gross."_

_Ron took the tissue from Kim, looking surprised. "I never said you did," he replied. Then he added, "Thanks."_

_Kim looked down at Ron disdainfully, "I told Bonnie it's stupid to beat up on somebody." And then came the blow: "Unlike _some_ people, _I_ have a conscience."_))

"No…" Kim murmured, shaking her head, dumb-struck. "That's not true… he does… I-in his dream… The dream-Ron I talked to… he does…. Sometimes it feels like he doesn't but he _really_ does." Kim looked up as if the force still hovering around her would become visible.

"A-am I wrong?" she asked the surrounding being. "I'm wrong aren't I? Is that what you're showing me? That even though I thought I had this figured out I as _wrong_?" Her plea for a reply became desperate, becoming apparent in her voice, "Then everything _really_ was a misunderstanding!" Then what she said hit her. _Really_ hit.

Could it be that this _whole_ argument, this _whole_ rift in their friendship had been nothing but Kim jumping to a conclusion? She had shouted at Ron in the change room before he slipped into the coma that—

((_"Isn't that great how everything seems to work out for you!"_)) Kim's own voice came sneering from behind her. Whipping around she faced another memory… it was the argument from the change room! The exact one Kim had been recollecting… and now…

((_" 'It was an accident!', 'I didn't know!'" Kim mocked Ron crudely, sneering at him._

_Ron's chest rose and lowered grievously and he cried back, "Stop that! I'm telling you the truth, I'd never lie to you!"_

_But Kim only threw more in his face. " 'I disapprove of lying except for when it works and no-one notices'!"_

_"I didn't mean you-"_

_"Then who did you mean, huh! There we go again: everybody but me!"_

_Ron wavered where he stood, "Don't you think that might mean something!" _))

"Yes… I… it does!" Kim shouted at Ron in reply. "Oh my goodness…" she blanched, again stumbling backwards, an arm over her stomach, the other to her mouth. "I was _wrong_! Was I really wrong! I'm sorry, I'm _sorry_ I was so mean to him-" She paused.

No, this force was in Ron's mind. What it was showing her was his memories and… what else could be in Ron's mind other than himself! This force surrounding her, pushing her, mocking her and forcing her to see the truth was…

"Ron! It's you, I found you!" Again she stared up at the white surrounding her. "Ron, show yourself to me, _please_! We need to talk, we need to... Is it all really a misunderstanding_-_"

But… it _couldn't_ be a misunderstanding. All this, _all_ of what Ron showed her, rooted to the night they had shattered their friendship. The night Kim had overheard Ron's thoughts while they sat waiting for Wade to fix up the Kimmunicator and separate their hands. Those were his thoughts and thoughts don't lie! Ron _still_ thought that! She couldn't let her emotions take hold of her! She may have been wrong about these… but not his own thoughts she overheard!

Suddenly the force… no, _Ron_—Ron again sent Kim's mind a thundering crush and she cried out again, her imagined body again flickering violently for the pressure forced on her causing her to lose control.

"Stop, Ron! Don't do that! You can't _lie_ to me! These may have been misunderstandings, but your thoughts! I heard them! Show yourself and we can _talk_ it out! Because I read your letter and I know you-"

The void shuddered, although she saw nothing and heard nothing, the pressure on her mind felt like the booming crack of thunder, and an immense form all around her full of angered dignity. And then…

_WHOOSH!_

Another memory slapped forwards, now completing a box around Kim with the other three memories.

It was Kim sitting in her chair at her desk. She was wearing the black high-slit dress and her hair was straightened, a glossy black. Beside her on the floor, Ron sat, his hair brown and in his white shirt and black pants. His hand was in hers. Kim knew this scene it was…

((This isn't what I wanted, dude.))

Kim gasped, panting, unlike the other memories she had been in and seen, this one… _this one_ was playing what Ron had been thinking at the time!

((This is SO not what I meant when I wished I could hold her hand forever! I always wanted her to be mine, but not like this… At least Josh is gone from her mind forever. Heh. The stupid pretty boy never deserved her. I'm so way past amazed at the progress I've made with her, it's remarkable! I'm just… so grateful… it has to be the reason our hands became stuck together! And because of that, she's mine… all _mine_. Oh Kim… I want to be with you forever!

_At that moment, Kim's eyes flickered and she sat in dumbfounded horror._

_"K-KP?" Ron asked stuttering, concern alight in his eyes. _

_Kim beside him turned to face Ron, her eyes glazed…_))

Again, Kim was left standing like Ron had just slapped her in the face. "Did you really think that!" she cried at Ron all around her. "Are you _serious_!" Kim could no longer control it; tears began to brim in her eyes. "What I heard… was it really disjointed? And…"

Kim turned back to the memory, it wouldn't stop and neither would all the other three. If it ran its course, then it replayed over and over and over. Ron alone, sick and in need of comfort; Ron saving her life, saving her and being reprimanded for it, left in the desert to die! Ron trying to coax Kim gently to talk to him and her being harsh back. And then the worst of them all, how it all started from those disjointed thoughts…

"Stop! Stop it, Ron, stop!" she shouted, tightening herself as the memories forced themselves in front of Kim. "No, I get it, I get it! Take them away, I don't want to see-" And every time she attempted to close her eyes, Ron's invisible being shattered Kim's mind into keeping her mind open to watch… to watch the horrors… to see what _she_ had done to him, the cruelties he had gone though… and all because he cared for her!

"Ok, ok!" she shouted, raising her head up to look at Ron all around. "I _understand_, I'm sorry! Is that what you want to hear from me? Because I _am_! _I am!_ Ron... stop…"

But he wouldn't stop.

In fact, more, _more_ memories rushed forwards to join in the forceful mocking of Kim. There was Ron feeling sick at school, he ran past her and she didn't notice and she saw him retching into the school toilet; Ron attempting to phone Kim and her hanging up on him; Ron trying to save her from Gil spiking her drink and then her yelling at him and ruining his shirt with punch…

All these memories tormented Kim as she stood, forced to watch them all. They began to swirl around her overlapped by more rushing forwards, forcing her to see what she had done… why… why Ron didn't want to wake out of the coma… answering all of her stupid questions…

"I'm _SORRY!_" she screamed, her cheeks now streaked with tears. "Ron… Ron. Oh, Ron! I'm _SORRY_, I _understand!_ I was wrong, I was wrong all this time and I never… I never let you prove yourself. I never listened… l-like I _promised_. Stop! _STOP, PLEASE!_" Kim screamed tossing her head into the air, tormented by Ron's own memories that he had once lived through… memories that she hadn't been there for him and if she had, she had been nothing but cruel to the boy.

"_RON! STOP! PLEASE, COME TO ME! CO-_"

And that was when the void she stood on gave way. She cried out in surprise as she fell, leaving the memories to swirl overhead. She fell down the white void, falling, falling… not knowing when… or _where_ she would land. Or whether or not Ron would be there for her. And if so, how pleased would he be to see her?


	8. Ronfrontation

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* * *

¤ Instalment 08 »» _Ronfrontation_ ¤ 

Get up, stand up

Open your eyes

Take me to the limit, never let me go

Don't cry, don't lie

Open your mind

Gonna take me over, make me feel alright

-Stellar Project, '_Get Up, Stand Up_'

* * *

Kim continued to fall down the white void, not knowing when she would land. The white void was all around her, no trace of surface or walls. Looking up, she sighted the memories still swirling in a circle above where she had fallen from. The memories above were now diminishing from her sight; it was her only way to calculate how far she was falling. Within a short time, if she squinted when looking down as the air whizzed past her, rippling her hair above her head, she could make out tiny dots. Soon the dots became larger as she neared them and they began to form shapes. But before she could make out these shapes… 

"Gah!" The speed of her fall picked up and soon the air rushing at her stung her eyes. Flinching, Kim shut and covered them with her arms then…

_THUNK!_

"Auugh…"

Kim had hit some kind of surface and now sat on her legs, hands splayed on the floor. The repercussion of hitting the 'ground' had not only shocked her imagined body, but her actual conscious mind wrapped within her 'body' as well.

Biting her lower lip, Kim gripped her forehead and squinted around at her surroundings, stretching out her sore back. The imagined pain to her body from the fall immediately vanished when she sat stock-still and stared at her surroundings.

She was… she was in…

A court room!

Of all the places she could have fallen into, a court room was not in Kim's top ten guess list. But it wasn't just that she had landed into a court room. It was also the people that were staring back at her, every bit as surprised as she was to see them. Shuffling to her feet and brushing hair out of her face, Kim gulped staring back at the many Rons that stared back at her…

Above her to Kim's left, sitting behind a tall wooden desk, was Ron clothed in black as a judge, a gavel in one hand peering at her with intense curiosity. Recoiling, in front of her were twelve Rons sitting in the jury seats, all looking at her with contemplation, some scratched their heads, some whispered to the one beside them while the others stroked their chins. Intimidated, she whirled to her right and spotted two more Rons.

Only one of the two remaining Rons was actually returning her look. The Ron regarding her wore a black suit accompanied with a tie, his hair was slicked back and he wore small, round framed glasses. Unlike the other Rons, there was an intelligence in this one's eyes, something more than just baffled curiosity unlike the Jury and Judge Rons. He seemed interested in Kim, and not just because she had fallen randomly out of the 'sky' either.

The other Ron was sitting behind a plain wooden table. Studying this Ron, her mouth slid open slightly; she couldn't help but wonder why this Ron wore a straight jacket. She was unable to see what was behind his eyes for he refused to look at her with his head cast defiantly in the other direction.

Before Kim could open her mouth to speak, a loud banging came from behind and Kim winced, seeing the Judge Ron bang his gavel repeatedly.

"Order, order!" he cried, glaring at the Rons sitting in the jury seats.

"I'll have a naco!" a Jury Ron cried back and soon the other Jury members were nodding with agreement.

The Judge Ron shot them all a look that silenced them. "What's all this then?" he proceeded to ask. Again Kim was going to reply, lifting a finger, but realised he wasn't even looking at her. Judge Ron was looking over her at the Ron in the slick suit. _He must be a lawyer, _she thought.

"Is this a witness? Or a lost dream?" Judge Ron demanded.

"Why is it _Kim_?" one Jury member asked.

"Silence!"

Whirling around, Lawyer Ron stepped forwards, now beside Kim. For some reason that Kim couldn't explain, she felt safer with this Ron by her side. It was difficult to hide her blush while he evaluated her some more, then spoke to the Judge. "I'm not sure. I didn't call her." He studied her again and Kim cringed. "Where are you from?"

She blinked. "You're asking me?" _Wow,_ she couldn't help but think sarcastically. _Someone's actually wanting_ my _say?_

Lawyer Ron smiled at her, a _kindly_ smile, something Kim hadn't seen in such a long time… and so contrasted with First Ron's angry mood a mere moments ago when he had been bombarding her with the grisly truth. Perhaps she had fallen into a dream of his.

"I…" Kim started, her sour mood failing her. "I'm from Reality."

That sentence sent off a flurry of whispers, excitement and controversy from the Jury. Some of them glared at Kim while some grinned at her eagerly. Honestly, Kim had _no_ idea what to make of all this, it was really beginning to weird her out.

"Order!" Judge Ron called, banging his gavel. "What's this, huh? From Reality?"

"She's probably a Delusion!" that same Jury member cried.

"Augh, I'm so not!" Kim retorted, impatience returning to her. "What _is_ all this? Am I in another one of Ron's dreams again?"

Lawyer Ron beside her chuckled into his fist, his eyes shining brightly as he gave her another genuine smile. "No, First Kim. This isn't a dream of Ron's."

"Then what is it? Who are all of you?" Her eyes flickered to the Judge, "Um, no disrespect meant. I get this is a court room but…" Kim grappled for what to say next. "I just… I don't get it. One moment I was falling through Ron's mind, the next I'm in a court room!"

Looking at the Judge, Lawyer Ron asked, "Permission to explain?"

Judge Ron stroked his chin, thinking it over then looked at something behind Lawyer Ron as he thought. Finally, he appeared to come to an answer, but instead of saying it himself, he nodded at the Jury members and all chorused, "Agreed!"

_Ok, that's a little off centre._

"You're in a different area of Ron's mind from where you were before when you were viewing his memories and dreams. It's hard to explain _where_ you are so let me tell you _who_ we are."

Kim shrugged, "If it helps."

Lawyer Ron appeared amused at her reply rather than annoyed. It was like nothing could tick this guy off. He brandished a hand at the Judge Ron, "He, the Judge, is Ron's _judgement_."

Kim double blinked, "Wha-what?"

"They," Lawyer Ron nodded at the Jury, carrying on, "Make all of Ron's decisions."

"Oh… oh ok. I think I get it," Kim nodded slowly. "And you? You're a lawyer so… what does that make you?"

"I'm Ron's Conscience."

Kim gasped, recoiling. "You… you _are_? Like… _ARE_ his whole conscience?"

"Yes."

"You're apart of Ron, the real Ron."

"Again, yes. So is everyone else here."

Kim's eyes flickered, her own mind trying to comprehend what Lawyer Ron—what Ron's _conscience_—had just told her. (_No wonder he seemed to nice to me…_) She stared at the Ron's all around her, all still keeping their eyes on her. Suddenly, she felt very small and outnumbered, it wasn't a feeling Kim enjoyed. As her eyes swept the court room again, they landed on the other Ron she had practically forgotten about.

"Him," Kim said, trying to change the subject after feeling uncomfortable about the fact that she was speaking _to_ Ron's Conscience. "Who is he then?"

"H'm?" Ron's Conscience turned and beheld the Ron in the straight jacket.

"Your defendant, who is he inside Ron?"

" 'Defendant'!" Ron's Conscience looked stunned for a few moments then laughed. "Heck, no! He by all means is _so_ not my defendant like whoah."

"Then-"

"I'm the prosecutor."

"_What!_ I… I don't…"

Ron's Conscience coughed into his fist. "That," he motioned with his head towards the Ron in the straight jacket, "Is First Ron. The Ron who Is. The Ron who is in the Forefront of the Mind."

"The one I speak to…" Kim murmured, repeating what the Ron at the reception desk had told her. She stared hard at the Ron in the straight jacket, her thoughts still processing. "The one I had been with just a few moments ago… The Ron I've been searching for…"

"Yes."

"Why is he in a straight jacket?" her voice was worried, "Why-"

"Don't you know?" Ron's Conscience asked, "Can't you guess? First Ron doesn't want to wake up from the coma." Kim stood slack jawed. "First Ron does not believe in a reason to live anymore now that you, First Kim, despise him so much by forcing him into this Shutdown. I can't say I blame him," Ron's Conscience went on, casting a weary look at First Ron. "But I, as his conscience, say there's still a reason to live. It's why I'm here, making my case in front of Ron's judgement and decisiveness. I'm by all means _not_ defending his reason to die."

Kim's entire mind was shocked, she could feel her mind whirling and trying to grasp what she had just been told by apart of Ron's own self. Could it be true? Ron… didn't want to _live_ anymore! This whole time… all those months that passed while Kim sat in Reality, waiting patiently for his return… that _whole_ time, Ron had _wanted_ his plug to be pulled. He had been _waiting_ for it. He didn't want to live… didn't want to be with her anymore… and it… it was all _her_ fault. Oh the pain and guilt that consumed Kim when she understood this!

"Ron!" Kim cried, staring hard at First Ron; he still looked away form her. But she could see his expression slightly, he looked… angry. Kim shivered. But his disgruntled mood only fuelled more desperation in reaching to him, to talk to him… "Ron! Listen to me, you have to-"

First Ron took in a long slow breath, but otherwise did not react to Kim's desperate pleas.

"What's going on here?" Kim demanded tersely of Ron's Conscience, barely aware of her shaking hands reflecting her unsettled mind. "Tell me! Why is he in a straight jacket, why won't he speak to me?"

"It's simple," Ron's Conscience replied, looking down at her with sympathetic eyes. "I'm reviewing through his mind, selecting memories to prove to him that life is still worth living. That _you're_ still worth living for even if you… prefer to be without him."

First Ron snorted from behind.

"But that's not true!" Kim protested, her eyes darting over to First Ron at his 'reply'. "I… You... him… _Ron_ just… I think he showed me the truth-" First Ron stirred slightly. "I can see you're angry with me, Ron. And I… I don't blame you if what you showed me really was the truth, if I've been wrong for so long. Out in Reality, you never showed me anger, well… in those last moments before you went into the coma you did." Again First Ron stirred, "But that was understandable!"

"Please, stop!" Ron's Conscience lightly pushed Kim away from First Ron, stepping in between the two. "Stop, you're riling him!"

"So!"

"So if you rile him too much, he'll break free from his constraints!"

Kim frowned with irritation, "But he can do that at anytime! It's just his imagination-"

"No," Ron's Conscience hastened, "Don't you get it, KP? _I'm_ keeping him here! I, _his conscience_, is what put that constraint on him—that straight jacket. If you upset him too far, even his own conscience won't be able to hold him back."

"This is just too weird," Kim snorted and turned away sharply, scowling in her own aggravation. "Then how can I speak to him? To First Ron?"

"You shouldn't," Ron's Conscience replied grimly.

At this, Kim whirled around, staring at his Conscience. Her lip curled. "What do you mean! You're his _conscience_, you have to let me! I didn't come all this way-"

"I have First Ron's best interests!" he returned, "If you talk to him, you the First Kim, then you'll push him to the brink! Every time I show him memories of you, even the good ones… he… he doesn't _like_ it. He shows us images of the cruel times, of when you treat him unfairly. Sometimes…" Ron's Conscience paused, his eyes darting nervously onto First Ron. Although First Ron wasn't looking at them, it was obvious that he was listening. "It annoys him so much that he breaks free from my binds and loses himself in his own horrible memories! Then I have to find him again and appeal to him before I can bind him once more."

"So it was you," Kim murmured in thought. "That was First Ron in the movie theatre and you and the jury chased after him."

Ron's conscience nodded.

"But… no! I'm not just going to sit back and wait for him to either decide to live or not! I don't have _time_ to wait for something that might not happen!" She looked back at First Ron and spoke directly to him. "That's why I came here, Ron. I came here to rescue you, to bring you back to Reality! I'm not just gonna sit back and wait for you to decided to _DIE_!" At that word, First Ron shifted himself, continuing to glare in the other direction. "That's stupid! You have a right to be mad, but come on and just _TALK_ to me, we can sort things out-"

"Please!" Ron's Conscience appealed, "Stop! What you're saying… it reflects what he tried to say to you in Reality… You're…" First Ron again shifted more often now. His shoulder blades hunched as what little expression Kim could see of him looked increasingly pissed.

But Kim ignored his Conscience and continued to speak only to First Ron. _Her_ Ron. "Don't you get it! They're going to pull your plug soon. _Very_ soon! I have to bring you back _before_ then. They're going to kill you if you don't wake up, don't you _understand_!" (First Ron flinched) "_They're going to KILL you-_"

"I GET THAT."

"No!" Ron's Conscience cried, loosing hold of it's imagined body.

"Ron!" Kim cried out, taking a frightened step towards First Ron.

First Ron whipped his head around and shot his eyes directly into Kim's own. The glare, full of… of… hatred. Yes, it was _hatred_ in his eyes. This hatred was strong as it penetrated Kim's entire mind and shot her with all the pain and guilt that Kim had never in her life had felt. They blazed into Kim, tearing her up inside as if he was slicing her up with knives. She took a step backwards nervously, her imagined heart racing and thudding in her chest.

"_I get that_," he hissed back at her.

"Ron…"

"I said I GET THAT," and then, with his legs wobbling, he stood up behind the desk. He teetered on his legs, his arms bound within the straight jacket. "I know," he hissed at Kim, his eyes never flickering from hers. "It's what I've been _waiting for_."

"No, you don't mean that!"

"_I DO_," Ron spat back. With a violent motion he swung his head and the desk in front of him flung across the void to clatter far away, breaking to pieces and then to vanish altogether. His fierce actions terrified Kim: Ron _never_ acted like this in Reality.

She couldn't turn around to face the other Rons, her eyes were bound to First Ron, his body trembling like he was only now learning how to stand. Her eyes could only turn to First Ron and then his Conscience who was still barely in her line of sight.

Ron's Conscience was gritting his teeth, his face masked with either pain or great concentration, probably both. Kim understand that Ron, his Conscience, was trying to hold himself back, his morals and good side endeavouring to stop his flaming desire to lash out at Kim. It was a battle that was being lost. The chair behind Ron shared the same fate as the table and Ron was clear to take another intimidating step towards Kim.

"_I WANT TO DIE_," he snarled at Kim and his Conscience next to Kim began to fade and flicker.

"You're just confused!" Kim cried back, dealing with travail of her own not to run away from Ron. "You-"

"_Confused!_" Ron exclaimed, lifting his head high and looking bewildered and utterly indigent. "CONFUSED! _How dare you_! How dare you come into my mind—_MY_ mind! I show you the truth, I _give you the truth_ and then you _still_—just like in _Reality_," (he said that word as if it was a disgusting swear) "You won't believe it! I'm _SICK_ of it, Kim! So _tired_ and _sick_ of dealing with you!"

"That's not what I meant, Ron!" Kim cried back. She used the wrong word. Not confused as in 'I thought you were confused in hurting me, that you did those things to me on purpose but because you didn't know better' but confused as in 'you don't want to really die!'. Kim attempted a brazen step towards Ron. But as soon as she did, Ron took two steps _away_ from her. "When I said 'confused', I mean-"

She stopped in mid sentence when she saw Ron giving her the most eerie smile. His head was hung and his eyes were shielded by his hanging bangs, but that smile… that grin… it gave her shivers and she gripped herself, crossing her arms, for support.

"Did I make a mistake, Kim?" he asked softly, a deadly whisper.

"Ron…"

"Did I? Did I jump to a conclusion?" he chuckled to himself. "Am I to listen to what you _really_ meant to say..?"

Kim gritted her teeth, staring at Ron with repulsed awe at how cruel he was being to her. He attacking her with his memories and crushing her with the weight of his mind was one thing, but this… this wasn't like Ron at all…

It began to irritate her and she felt herself wanting to return the fury at Ron. "Stop that!" she commanded, trying to take hold of authority like what was usual in Reality between the two of them. "Now you listen to me, Ron-"

"_HOW DARE YOU_," Ron screamed and reared himself backwards, with a snap, the straight jacket burst, flinging into the air, disappearing. Kim gasped, bringing an arm up to shield herself.

All around Kim, the void began to shake uncontrollably and Kim felt her imagined body flicker and it was yet another struggle on her mind to hold herself together. She cringed, holding herself, opening one eye. Kim watched Ron's Conscience next to her vanish altogether and Kim cried out, trying to grasp him before it was too late. But it was and now Kim knew she was in _deep_ trouble. _This is _so _way past the drama here…_

Kim scrunched her eyes shut waiting for the void around (and Ron's temper for that matter) to settle.

"HOW DARE YOU COME INTO _MY_ MIND AND TRY TO CONTROL ME," Ron shouted and Kim scrunched her eyes even more, fighting back a tear that wanted to slip loose.

_I will not cry in front of him; I will be firm, I will be direct…_

"I hate you."

Kim's eyes flew open.

The court room and everyone had vanished except for First Ron, now wearing his red shirt with the navy sleeves. Breathing hard, she looked at him across an empty white space. While the void had been trembling in reaction to Ron's temper, he had put a great space between the two, just far enough to be able to speak to one another and not be obligated to yell. But it wasn't what he did, so much as what he said.

"You hate me..?" Kim breathed, not sure if Ron could hear her from his distance.

"I hate you!" Ron spat in return, "You always complain about what I did to you! But what about what you did to me!" Kim opened her mouth to speak, but Ron interrupted again. "I suffered each and every day… I thought about you constantly and then I tried to make things cool again but you _wouldn't listen to me_! WELL MAYBE I DON'T WANNA LISTEN TO YOU ANYMORE!"

"Stop!" Kim shouted back, "Stop shouting, Ron, that's not going to solve anything. I came here to _talk_ to you and-"

"I want you _out_!" Ron snarled, "I want you out of my mind! Get out or I'll crush you!"

Kim gasped in horror, "You wouldn't!"

"I would," he sneered, "You're _in_ my mind: a small fraction of a mind inside a whole mind. If I wanted to, I could crush your mind with the weight of my own! _Now get out_!"

"Absolutely not!" Kim retorted, trying to hide her uncertainty. "I'm so not going to leave you to allow yourself to die!"

"Then you can die with me, that's _your_ choice!"

"You'd take me down with you?" Kim asked incredulously.

Ron's shrug was a heartless one. "It's my choice to die, if you won't leave, then you'll die too and that's your choice."

"Then I will!"

"FINE, because I _don't care_!"

Kim opened her mouth to shout back but realised that wasn't such a good idea. Ron was right, he had applied pressure to her mind before; he really did have the power to crush her with his own mind. Yelling at him would only fuel his rage. Back in Reality, if Kim was frustrated with Ron, he would always shrink back and give in, doing what she said and listening to her. But now that she was _in_ his mind where he thought and could not hide his emotions for there was no face to pretend everything was ok, Kim now knew she had to tread carefully. Kim had _never_, not _ever_ in her whole life seen Ron so furious. It wasn't how he acted, but she supposed that inside his mind, Ron did become infuriated but because of his personality, decided not to show it, or show it differently than by yelling and screaming. If Kim treated him like she would have in Reality for his outbursts, he would not shrink back from her. It would only make the sitch worse.

Recomposing herself, Kim closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. _Be calm with him_, she thought. _Coax him out of his anger, it's consuming him, it's not all of his fault…_

"You should," Kim replied, lowering her voice after opening her eyes. She looked into Ron's eyes across the void separating them. "Because I care about you."

Kim's plan seemed to work. Ron, too, lowered his voice, but his hostility was still very much there. "Liar," he whispered.

Biting her lower lip, Kim fought back her sharp tongue. Instead she shook her head slowly. "I'm not lying, Ron. I wouldn't lie to you-"

"LIAR!" Ron's outburst startled Kim and she watched his chest swell with his own maddening hatred. She tried not to show her fear, instead, she attempting to keep herself neutral, hoping it would calm him down.

"You're a liar, you're an abuser, you're a horrible friend, you never listen to me—you think you're always right! You never listen to what I have to say, you never let me do anything! You always try to control me and even in my own _mind_ you try to boss me around. Even when I was trying to be happy on my own, you'd glare at me. You never let me be happy unless I was with you and you never wanted me! _No-one does!_"

"Now _that's_ a lie!" Kim yelled back. She hadn't meant to yell, it came out automatically and as soon as she realised it, she regretted it.

"No, do you want to see proof, Kim! We'll be here until the end of my time if you'd really like to see ALL the _proof_ I have! Not just these past months, but ever since the beginning of our friendship!"

With a raise of Ron's hand, Ron brought down over ten memories that dissolved from the void and swirled down around Kim.

_Not this again!_ Bemused, Kim looked at all the memories circling her. In every memory they were a different age and in every one, Kim was doing something to hurt Ron either physically or emotionally. _No, stop doing this to me… I know this… I know this!_

"I know, Ron! I know this now... I _understand_!"

The memories floated away to circle around the both of them at a distance. Other memories surfaced from the void to join them. Silent, yes, but the memories were always playing and replaying, reminding Kim, reminding the _both _of them of the past. _Work with them_, Kim noted determinately, _not against them._

" 'Understand'!" Ron scoffed. "You say you understand. You say that _every_ time, like in the tree in the bog months ago! You say that, yet you always go back on that and it… it _always tears us apart_! You…" his voice cracked, was the anger actually slipping away? "How… You say you want to be together again, is that it? Is that why you came into my mind? But how can we when we're always been torn apart by _you_! _I'm sick of it!_"

Kim shook her head, insistent on playing Ron's counter-each-other game and winning. She knew he was expecting her to shout back again, to rebuke what he had accused of her. But she wouldn't… Instead, she'd surprise him.

"That's right, Ron. Realising it just wasn't enough, we're... or I am… Trust me Ron, what I said in the tree was honest, no lies. But… I might have needed to learn it the hard way. And I have. Believe me, Ron, I _so_ have. All I need to remember is those months of pure hell being away from you and I can tame my faults! I never want that again, now that I know what it's like to be without you. But you have faults too, Ron."

"I _KNOW_ I do!" Ron shouted back. "But I don't have to worry about it anymore!" Kim's eyes widened, "Or yours cos I'm not gonna be around to have to go through them again. I'm tired of all this trash, y'know? I'm sick of it and I'm waiting for the pulling of the plug now that I'm actually in control for once! I won't have to live with you bringing me down anymore!"

Kim gasped, appalled at Ron's determination to end his own life. "You don't really mean that, Ron. Not _death_, the Ron I know would never want that. You've been stuck in your mind for so long, your thoughts are distorted. It's not all-"

"Distorted!" Ron snarled, "Tell me, is _this_ distorted?"

With a violent wave of his hand, like he was throwing something, a flickering memory slowly circling them yanked forward as if he had pulled it. Kim shielded herself from the memory, thinking it was going to hit her, but it stopped just short of her. It was so close Kim had no choice but to watch.

((_"Shut-up."_

_Ron flinched before Kim, he was going to back down, but no, he took an unwarranted step towards Kim boldly. _

_He spoke clearly, calmly and firmly: "I think I know what you heard and I can _really _explain it if you'd just _listen_. Remember, Kim, you promised to listen to me-"_

"_Shut-up!"_

"Kim_, listen to me, I-"_

_Kim shut her eyes, swinging her head away from Ron, scrunching her arms in front of her as if in pain, her long, smooth black hair swinging violently behind her. _

"Shut-up!" _she screeched, her voice panicked and shrill. She threw her head up, her eyes still shut. _

"KIM!" _Ron's voice rose louder, trying beyond all measure to bring Kim to her senses._

If I can put my arms around her, _Ron's thoughts played in the memory. _Maybe she'll soothe down and listen to me. I don't wanna see her like this.

_But Kim had twirled her head back to Ron to stare at him with wild and maddened eyes. "I said _**SHUT-UP!**"

_Then came the swift, brutal movement of Kim's hand cutting through the air and striking Ron savagely across his face. The sound was loud against their ears and as Ron was struck, his mouth flew open in shock. _

_Kim stood panting hard, her eyes on him still untamed and uncontrollable, Ron… looking down… beaten…_))

The memory dissolved and reappeared again with the others encircling them quietly.

Kim was speechless her hand was to her mouth and was shaking violently now. She watched Ron stand there across from her. He stared at her with no emotion on his face.

"No, Kim. I don't think my thoughts have been distorted. They've just become clearer, that's all."

"No…" Kim breathed. She shook her head slowly not wanting to believe that what she had just seen had once been real. But it had been. She had been there. "Ron…"

"Leave me alone," Ron sneered, his voice just barely shaking with overwrought emotions. "You have no right to come into my mind and try to say everything's ok 'n junk like that cos you have no idea what kind of hell I've gone through. It wasn't all ok."

Again Kim shook her head slowly, still aghast at her own self. "Ron, y-you have to understand from my own point of view… you have to understand that I thought you were someone you weren't. I thought you wanted to take advantage of me. I thought you wanted to hurt me. If I had known better, I never would have done that to you, never…"

"You _would _have known better, KP!" Ron's voice rose and cracked. He stood on the tips of his toes and took a tip-toed step forwards as he almost lost his balance. "If you had just _talked_ to me! You talk about me _understanding_ _your_ POV, but you never wanted to _hear my _POV, Kim! You just assumed stuff and yelled at me. I was guilty before proven innocent! And I wasn't even _allowed_ the chance to prove myself innocent!"

"I'm sorry!"

"No you aren't!" Ron shouted back, his face flushed and his voice filled with anxiety. "I'm through with believing the stupid stuff you say cos you always lie to me!"

"I _don't_ lie to you, Ron! When, in this time since we've had our hands stuck to one another did I lie to you! Please, tell me _when_!"

"You kept making all those stupid promises about listening to me! How it was just me and you, how you were through with Josh and would never think of him again!" Although Ron paused, Kim could tell he wasn't done yet. Panting hard, he looked around himself at his memories encircling them. Finally he looked up and reached forwards, selecting a memory, no, _memories,_ and flew them at her like before.

"Do you remember when we were on the dock, KP! Or on the cliff? On your bed? In the tree trunk?" He sneered cruelly, "Or did you forget? Because I haven't!"

The memories, Kim swirled her head to look at all of them, they swirled around her closely. Frightened, she stood on the tips of her toes, hugging herself close trying to look and listen to each one…

((_"O, Ron…" she murmured and embraced his back, placing her free hand on his back and giving him a swooning hug. She rubbed his back gently for awhile to help soothe him._

"_I'll help you," she murmured close to his ear, "I'm here for you now." _))

((_Ron boldly nuzzled Kim's face with his, smiling. "Not ever?"_

"_Not ever."_

"_Even if Josh Mankey walked shirtless down the street and flexed his artsy-muscles at you?"_

_Kim laughed softly and nuzzled him back, "Even if Robbie, Josh, Bobby Johnson, and anyone you care to mention were shirtless in front of me I would turn my back on them all for you." _))

((_"What?"_

"_See, I need to be there for you and I haven't been doing that lately. If ever at all. Then you, I need you to be there for me. To be my reality, so I can look before I leap. And again, I haven't been listening to you. Oh my goodness…" _))

((_"And you're my 'the only' too," she replied in a whisper and touched her nose against his._))

"Stop!" Kim sobbed loudly, "Stop, stop, stop!" She shut her eyes and swung her head repeatedly from side to side. "Please, Ron, stop it!"

"Why? Don't like the truth, Kim! Did you forget all of this? Maybe you blocked it from your mind intentionally cos you didn't wanna remember all of this. Didn't wanna remember me and the things we said to each other! Maybe you just wanted to be mad at me, jump to conclusions and be with Josh. You jumped at Josh the first chance you got when he apologised to you!"

"No! No, no! I don't like this anymore, make it _stop_!" Kim sobbed, tightening herself as the encircling memories closed in all around her, she found herself trapped and tears now shed down Kim's cheek. A part of her wanted to be furious with Ron again but no… not here and not now. She repeated to herself that if she did become angry, Ron would not take to it at all. "I'm sorry, I'm in your mind and I know all this now; I know it, please, Ron… you're upsetting me!"

The memories vanished.

Kim opened one eye precariously, then the other when she realised Ron had caused the memories to disappear. He stood, still in front of her, still that great distance away. Silent, he was watching her, his anger seemingly calmed for the moment. He never yelled at her like this, he never wanted to hurt her. He still didn't want to, she realised. For as soon as she told Ron he was upsetting her, he stopped. His conscience was still present, somehow, somewhere.

She met his eyes, they were wary. There was concern in them, but his vexation was still there; he watched her carefully. For a long time, they said nothing, they only studied one another. Ron turned his head around at one point then looked back at her.

For the first time, Kim noticed wavelengths all around them in a circle behind the slowly circling memories. They seemed calm enough, the wavelengths, but they looked ready to spring and alter with Ron's mood to rage. The colour, it was dimming between a calm, mellow yellow and a light, pale red.

"Ron…" Kim said as stoical a she could, but it was difficult to hide her ever quavering voice. "You have to awaken… we want you… if not for me, then what about everyone else you'll leave behind? What about Felix and Rufus, even my brothers will miss you, and your parents a-and… and what about Tar-"

Abruptly without warning the colours surrounding them leapt into a deep, crimson red and the wavelengths seared drastically, up and down in huge vertical movements.

"You? Them? My parents? You're just as cruel as my parents!" Ron spat, tears flying from his eyes. "You put me down, slapped me, you constantly verbally abuse me… all just because I listen to you, dote you and admire you… and it hurts, Kim. It _hurts_! _You're,_ like the only person I have my life! The only… you have your family who cares and loves you. Your Mom and Dad, your brothers even and your Nana. You're always saving the world, anyone would be happy to do something for you. You're popular and can be friends with anyone! I'm not. I _don't_ have any of that. I'm not dumb though, I know my parents never intended to have me, I interfere with their work. I only have you, Kim. I don't need to be abused by you. If I wake, there's nothing for me."

At this point, Kim broke out into sobs, covering her face with her wracking hands, sobbing just as badly as Ron, or worse. But her tears were not masked by a growing infuriation unlike Ron. It frightened her to see him like this, to hear his words thrown so viciously at her. Never, not ever had he spoken to her like this. He was right in saying he always treated her with respect and sincerity. But now he was letting it all out. This was his mind and he could not hold back in speaking it.

"But there's a difference, Ron." Kim raised her head, her hands still cupped in front of her, ready to hide her face if need be. Her voice trembled. "You say your parents didn't want you. But I do, Ron. I want you… I… I _love_ you."

Silence.

Ron's mind was processing what she had just said, what she had never said to him before: The Great Admittance. Looking up and around, Kim sucked in her breath as she watched Ron's brainwaves battle against each other. They blazed many colours ever so rapidly, unable to settle and agree on an emotion, on a reaction. The look on his face showed his great confusion and he blinked rapidly.

Finally, what felt like decades (maybe was, time was of no essence in their conjoined minds), Ron responded. It wasn't the one Kim had been aspiring for.

"_Love_!" he snarled, his lip curled. "How can I accept love from you! You lied to me, Kim. So many freaking times too. I was a total idiot for believing you back when we were hanging on the dock. Back when you said what you did. You never uphold what you say to me. Not just on stuff like that, stuff on _love_ but back when we were only friends. You lied, just like when I spilled my thoughts to you and when you were crying in my arms about Josh on your bed. Remember that? You said 'Not ever' Kim and yet there you were with Josh, not even _looking_ at me, and when you did you glared at me something awful—looked like you want to hurt me worse than Shego wants to hurt you. You would spite me whenever you could. And you enjoyed it."

Ron looked up and slowly brought down a memory with his hand, trailing it down as if it were as weak as an injured dove in his hands. Inside the memory streamed many of Kim's faces through Ron's eyes, faces of Kim glaring at Ron in the past four weeks with anger, annoyance, irritation, defiance and… and hatred.

"Admit it, Kim," he said softly and melancholy, gently raising the memory back among the others. "You hated me."

Kim looked down, she didn't know how to respond, she was glad he couldn't see her mind wavelengths. When she looked up at him, he was still watching her, waiting for her to say 'yes. Yes, I did hate you, Ron'. Kim had an answer ready for him:

"Yes. Yes, I did hate you, Ron," and when she looked into Ron's eyes as she said this, a look of some sort of estranged victory shone in his eyes. Victory he didn't want. "I hated the Ron I _thought_ you were. The Ron I incorrectly saw. The Ron that wanted to hurt me, take what he wanted from me and didn't care about me. But I was wrong, because that Ron didn't exist, never did. That was the Ron I hated. But guess what? Since the Ron I hated never existed, that must mean I don't hate you now; the _real_ you. I know, because I _love_ that Ron, whether you accept it or not."

Kim paused, looking at Ron and he looked back at her, the anger in his eyes slowly diminishing to a familiar expression. Soft eyes confused, he often was.

"Just because you don't accept my love doesn't mean it'll go away. I'll still feel for you if you decide not to accept it."

He turned his head away from her, but… no rage. The colours around them morphed into a murky, rainy, light blue. It looked like sadness. He was, wasn't he, the way the wavelengths dipped low in slow sloping movements?

"You don't love me," he said gently. "You love Josh. I… I never should have come between you two… That… wasn't cool of me. That's my fault."

Kim stared at him, not knowing what to say. It was true, wasn't it? But still, she and Ron both knew that Kim was mainly at fault here. The fact that Ron was apologising to her made her want to cry with happiness. It meant she was getting through to him.

"Ron, you silly fr00b," she teased softly, enticing him to look at her. "I didn't love Josh. I never did. I tried to use him to replace you but it didn't work. He's no Ron. Only Ron can be Ron, which is why I like you. When I thought you were no longer the kind, wonderful, loveable Ron that you are, I tried to look to Josh to seek all those things from when he apologised to me. That wasn't love, just me being an idiot," she laughed softly in an attempt to lighten the mood. It must have worked: the blue hue around her lightened slightly.

"I broke up with Josh after you went into the coma. Ron, do you know how flipping _freaked_ I was for you? I blamed myself, not the malaria. I _still_ blame myself even though I didn't cause your malaria."

"Malaria?"

Kim blinked in a brief moment of confusion. "Oh, right. Yes, Ron. You went into a coma because you were sick with malaria."

"I…" Ron cast his head away, he sounded embarrassed. "I thought it was because you pushed me."

Kim's smile twitched. "I had thought so too. Looks like we both jumped to a conclusion there."

Slight amusement on Ron's face.

"When you went into the coma, I realised how much I wanted you back, I realised I had always liked you. _Loved_ you, even when I thought I was hating you. I thought… I thought if I brought you back you might be that old Ron again…"

"I always am that Ron."

Again Kim smiled, "I know that _now_, I'm glad I retrieved the amulet from Monkey Fist."

"Monkey Fist?"

Kim nodded, "MmH'mm, I fought monkeys for you."

Ron's eyes widened, "Monkeys?"

"Yup, one was bigger than me! All teeth and fur—Plus the real hairy ones too!"

Ron shivered, so did his wavelengths, "You fought hairy monkeys for me?"

"I did. Just for you."

"But…" Ron's wavelengths which had been slowly rising began to lower again and Kim began to panic. She had just been bringing Ron out of his sadness and now he was slowly slipping back into it… why? "I don't understand… you just broke up with Mankey? Why? Y-you always wanted to be with him. Like, you even _cried_ after that whole Bueno Nacho doom."

Kim blinked at him in confusion, "I told you, Ron; I never loved him. I told him I wanted to be with you, even if you were in the coma. I told him I was sorry I never felt for him the way he did for me. Josh wasn't happy, we didn't separate on a kind note either," Kim sucked in her breath, looking off to one side. "But I don't really care about that. Right now, I care about bringing you back."

"But you kissed him!" Ron shot back, "In front of me too, lots of times! And at the party-"

Kim immediately recoiled, lowering her head, gritting her teeth as the colour of blue slowly began to return to that blood red, the wavelengths beginning to rise… his anger… No, no, not this again…

"No, Ron," Kim called out, trying to soothe him. "I did, but I did it to spite the Ron that never existed. Do you hear me, Ron? Not you, not the real you. His kisses…" Then she added hastily, "Yours were better!"

Kim almost laughed as the wavelengths died down instantly, returning to slightly below normal. They rose and lowered slightly in little waves, his precaution, a pale yellow, almost a white, which Kim assumed was normality.

"I was?" he inquired.

Kim stood up again. "Definitely, his was all, 'ew, no!'. I never kissed him first unless I was in front of the Ron-That-Wasn't. Yours were… were like magic."

Ron composed himself and Kim chuckled a little. "Yea?"

She nodded, "Totally way past."

"Yea, you can tell he'd be all serious," Ron nodded to himself, the grin on Kim's face broadened.

"Oh, definitely," she agreed. "I pity the girl he ends up with- she'll never experience the magic of the Ron kisses."

The wavelengths around Kim rose and the colour became a light pink. Was this happiness? Amusement? She hoped so. Looking at Ron, he began to smile. Did she dare to take a step towards him? She tried to, acting inconspicuously.

But it wasn't inconspicuous enough. Like a frightened deer, Ron skirted backwards away from her step as if it were a threat. He wasn't ready yet, she concluded, but he would be. Soon.

"Will you come back with me?" Kim ventured.

Ron tilted his head. "I dunno…" Kim looked up, following his gaze at the memories still encircling them. They were holding him back, bringing him down…

"Ron," Kim didn't care, she took a step forwards. Again, he noticed, he looked spooked and took a step backwards. "Make these memories go away."

"I can't."

"You can." Another step towards him.

"I can't! I don't know how… they're always reminding me and hurting me… even with what you say, I dunno what to do anymore, KP." A tentative step backwards.

"I know how you can make them go away," she took two steps forwards. Ron stood rooted to his spot although he looked like he was ready to bolt in the other direction. She couldn't lose him again in his disorientated mind; she may never find him again.

"How?"

"Come with me, wake up. Then we can start new memories, together, ok? Wanna do that? It's almost Christmas, think of all the cool times we can have. We can even bring out the old tapes of Snowman Hank and watch those!" Still Ron looked frightened as she approached him. "Let's go on together, how's that sound?"

"No…"

"What are you afraid of?"

"You."

Still Kim pressed on. "What would make you _not_ afraid of me?"

"I don't know!" he replied heatedly, "I don't… No! Go away, just leave me here, _please_, I'm at peace here with my memories, now… Just… just let them pull the plug, I don't care!"

"Stop being so selfish, Ron. _I_ care!" Kim was much closer to Ron now. She was almost right in front of him.

Ron appeared deathly frightened of her approach, as if she were Death coming to take him. He was so panic-stricken… _I'm almost there Ron. I'm almost with you…_ All around them the colour changed to a sickly green-yellow, it was his fright. It sped high drastically and dropped low dramatically, quickened. He was scared… he was confused…

"No!" In a flurry, Ron turned to face all the memories around him, the hurtful ones of her abusing him. Her slap, her cruel looks, the things she said or did, the neglect… "Don't come near me, stop! I just wanna be left alone here, I'm happy without you!"

Kim looked at him stunned. "Are you? Really? Then why, why in these memories are you so depressed? Why do you want me back? Why did you spill tears for me? I _came_ here of my own choice to help you because I _love_ you, Ron! How many times have I had to say that! _Doesn't that mean anything to you!_ That I _love_ you? Why does that not affect you?"

"It does!" he shouted back, "But I don't believe you! I can't, not when I have all this proof!" he waved at all the memories around them. Although Ron hadn't intended for it to, but what he said struck her because it was so familiar to her. In reverse. They were in reverse.

Kim didn't accept Ron or any of his attempts to talk with her and make things right because she believed she had proof that he was this repulsive person. She _thought_ she had proof, but it wasn't truthful. And now, here Ron was, terrified of her, not believing her when she spoke out her love for him because he now believed he had proof that she didn't love him… but he was wrong too, they both had been.

"You're wrong," Kim said, voicing what she knew. "Your proof is mislead, just like mine was. Look at what's in front of you, Ron, not to these misleading memories. Look at _me_. Don't make the same mistake I made. Remember what happened to us from that mistake. I learned my lesson. Learn yours."

Ron sagged, his hands to his face. "No," he wailed softly, "I can't… Leave… leave me alone…"

"Look at us, Ron... just look at us. We want to be together again, don't we? I do... I do so badly... and I think you do too. B-but there's something stopping _you_, Ron. I got rid of what was stopping me, now it's your turn. You hear me? _Your _turn. I'm waiting on you just like you were waiting on me those months back when you thought I hated you. Please... get rid of it, I've tried and I can't... Please, Ron. Let the anger go and trust me. I know how important this trusting me would be to you and I would never break it again. Can't you grasp it, Ron? Can't understand- hear what I'm saying? I'm saying _I want you_. You. Not Josh. Not anyone else. I'm telling you I'm sorry for all I've done. I'm telling you I _understand_ and you can't know how much guilt I've felt... or how I've cried and wished to just stand beside you again in Reality. There's nothing more I can do, Ron. You keep throwing everything at me, and I keep telling you the same thing over and over. Please, Ron... I need you to let go. There's nothing more I can do. I'm waiting on you."

Ron stood there, shivered and jaw trembled slightly. "M-my turn… I just can't, KP…" his voice was terse, "Not again... No."

Kim had reached Ron. She stood in front of him and he no longer looked ready to bolt. Again the colours around them became a depressing blue. She had been right, he wanted to be with her again, but like Kim when their hands had been unattached, something was stopping him—His fear and his anger and his 'proof'. Could anything Kim could do take it away? Couldn't she help? She was at her brink, she'd tried everything and still Ron refused.

So Kim wrapped her arms around Ron, around his arms and waist, hugging him close to her. He stood still, neither pulling away nor leaning into her.

Tears slid down Kim's cheeks. "I'm not going to leave you," Kim whispered into his ear. "I'm going to bring you back with me." She nuzzled him softly on his cheek. "I lost you once, I don't want to lose you again. I need you and I _know_ you need me. I don't want you to die."

"Die… I'm going to die soon..." Ron murmured.

"No you're not."

"But I... I want you to be with me..."

"I want to be with you too."

Because she was holding onto him from behind, she could not see his eyes flicker as she said this.

"I understand…" he replied softly, his voice so distant. "I understand. You want to be with me and… and I've had something in the way."

"Yes."

"I should let go… Then we can be together while we have the chance. I understand."

Before Kim could pull away to give him a questioning look, suddenly, from over his shoulder, she could see their surroundings begin to alter. The wavelengths which had been violently up and down, had settled, calmly, white, placid. The memories, like storm clouds, were disappearing. All the depressing memories that held Ron back, gave him his doubt and fright began to vanish. Everything became a warming white and Kim encouraged this, whispering softly into his ear, saying things for only the two to hear.

Kim gave a little gasp when she felt herself slip off her feet with Ron and suddenly they were lying down together on a beautiful bed with white sheets so soft and cushioning accented by great white pillows to prop them up. Kim found herself in a world of comfort and solace.

Using her imagination, Kim banished her clashing mission outfit, morphing it into a simple, beautiful white dress to match her surroundings. Noticing her doing so, Ron willed his clothing to become a simple white shirt and pants to match hers and so they became such.

"I should enjoy this while I can," Ron finally murmured beside her. "I do like being with you… I'm sorry…" He looked sleepy, and he closed his eyes, shifting close to her, she welcomed him.

"No need to apologise," she replied. "But thank-you… I'm glad you understand now. Finally we both understand." She snuggled close to him and they rested together, pressed close on their sides, Kim's arms around Ron and his resting in front of him between them. Lowering his head onto the pillows, Ron closed his eyes, more than likely spent from his emotional roller coaster. Kim too was exhausted from all the crying and determination.

He didn't sleep, he couldn't have. She wasn't sure what sleep would be like inside Ron's mind, but she was sure if he was sleeping, something around her would change and perhaps they'd delve into a dream, but nothing did.

Eventually, Ron opened his eyes again. They flickered, unfocused. "Kim..?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks… thanks for coming…" although he sounded sincere, Kim couldn't help but notice that he still sounded troubled. "Thanks for saving me from a not so cool death," this time she saw his eyes flicker. She assumed he was just upset about nearly committing suicide. "You saved me again, as usual."

Kim smiled endearingly, "I enjoy saving you."

"I can save myself sometimes, y'know," he snorted.

Kim laughed, "Emphasis on 'sometimes'."

Ron churred softly with laughter and nestled closer to her and her to him.

Kim was so elated… she could lay like this with Ron forever, they were at the utmost comfort and she cared for him so deeply. She could never exist without him and him without her. They belonged together, nothing could come between them again now that they understood each other… she loved him…

When he awoke from the coma, it would be just the two of them once again, like how it was supposed to end all those months ago when their hands had been detached. Kim recalled that night, the two of them on the bed and how wonderful that would feel to be like that with the real Ron again.

But… Kim's eyes dimmed as a quiver of doubt came into her mind. It wouldn't be as special for Ron… Even though she was positive Tara was out of the picture, the two… her and Ron had still… Kim cast her head down, feeling ashamed of herself. She looked up at Ron beside her and was startled to see him looking at her when she thought his eyes had been closed.

"Ron…"

"Yes, KP?"

She snuggled closer to him and he welcomed her. "Do you remember… I mean…"

"H'm?"

Kim blushed intensely, "What was it like?" she blurted out, her blush masking her entire face. "Remember our pact? Tell me… tell me what it was like. Did you… e-… like it? Do you regret it?"

Ron gave her a confused look. Of course, she'd have to be more specific than that. Ron was never exactly the brightest shirt on the rack.

Bringing one arm to place on his chest, she rubbed his body softly. He felt so real… even if it was only their imaginations combining.

"You'd be honest with me, right?"

"Sure, what about?"

"I want to… I want to know…"

Ron laughed placidly, "C'mon, Kimila," he purred. "You have to be a bit more descriptive than that."

"You and Tara," the words fell out of Kim's mouth. "What was it like?"

Ron's eyes blinked with sudden understanding.

"Just be honest ok? Nothing's going to tear us apart now, so just tell me the truth. That night when you went upstairs with Tara… Remember our stupid little pact when we were little? Tell me." She raised her eyebrows at him, "You owe me."

"Y-you mean…"

"You slept with Tara," Kim said.

Silence from Ron. Finally, "Aah."

"So?" Kim pressed, leaning closer to him. "Did you enjoy it? I'd think you would have. I mean, I know I'm not…" Blushing, Kim's eyes flickered down at herself. "Just tell me already!"

"Well…" Ron began, "Um… I. Ok."

Ron lifted a hand, bringing down a memory from no-where. It floated down and stopped in front of the both of them. Already it began to play, showing Ron and Tara walking up the stair, her hand in his.

Flushing, Kim buried herself in Ron's white shirt, not wanting to see this. How embarrassing! What was Ron thinking in showing this to her! "Ron!" she cried, her voice muffled.

Ron said nothing. Instead she heard the voices playing from the memory and she scrunched up her eyes, not wanting to know any of this anymore. Yet a small, tiny part of her still desired to peek and eavesdrop.

((_"So…" Tara sat next to Ron on the bed, the two sitting side by side, backs against the headboard. Ron was staring silently ahead at the darkened beige wall ahead of him. When he didn't react to Tara, she held back appearing upset. The hand she had been reaching out towards Ron faltered and uncertainty clouded her eyes. _

_For the longest time, there was nothing but silence between the two blondes. Even in the darkness, Tara_'_s riveting blue eyes shone through. Finally there was some movement when Tara_ _turned and touched the lamp on the nightstand beside her. The lamp gave off a dim light in the room, the two still mostly in darkness._

"_Ron," Tara_ _whispered. Ron's eyes flickered. "You know I really like you, right?" as she said this, she moved closer to Ron, her legs brushing against his. _

"_Yes, I… I think I get that," Ron finally responded._

"_You know what kind of like then, right?"_

"_Yea."_

_Ron's eyes widened when Tara placed her gentle, pale hand upon Ron's arm. Both blondes were pale, but Tara_'_s skin seemed more white than Ron's in the dark. _

_Leaning forwards, Tara_ _kissed Ron on his cheek. He blinked twice then finally turned to meet her. Their faces were so close to one another's surely they could feel one another's breath. The two still looked hesitant but with a leap of courage, Tara_ _hesitantly leaned forwards, placing both hands lightly on Ron's shoulders and moved in to kiss him on the mouth. Ron, knowing what was coming, leaned forwards too, their mouths nearly touching. They would kiss…_

_But Ron's eyes flickered again and he pulled away, sitting straight. Confused and a little hurt, Tara_ _leaned back to wonder why Ron had pulled away from her. _

"_What's wrong?" she whispered gently._

"_I…" Ron replied, his eyes darting away and his voice raising slightly. "I don't think I can do this, Tara."_

_Tara_ _looked down at the sheets and said, "Why? Did I-"_

"_It's not you, Tara."_

_Tara looked very confused, behind her eyes, her thoughts were scrambling for an answer. She gasped softly and leaned towards him inquisitively, "Y-you re not-"_

"_No!" Ron burst and his eyes flashed in a moment's anger. But as soon as he replied, his eyes softened. "No, it's not that. It's…"_

"_Oh," Tara_ _said suddenly. "Protection? I think, in the bathroom there might-"_

"_No, that's not it either." But at the particular word, Ron jolted as if hit with a bad memory. "It's…"_

_Tara, upon realisation, cast her head away. "Kim?"_

_Ron closed his eyes as if not wanting to admit it. "Yes."_

_Another passage of silence._

"_Ron, don't you remember what I told you?" Tara_ _questioned. "You can't keep thinking about Kim, she doesn't like you anymore. She thinks… Ron, you have to let go!"_

"_I'm _trying_," Ron replied. "I came up here with you, didn't I?"_

"_But nothing's happening."_

"_I'm sorry."_

"_You shouldn't be, but… Ron, I know it's hurting you but you don't know… is that it's hurting me too!"_

"_What?" This earned Ron's instant attention._

"_Ron, you know I like you, but you keep turning from me, going to someone who'll never have you. I'm trying so hard, I won't give up, but it's hard and it hurts."_

"_Wha..?" _

"_It hurts to see you still thinking of her now when we're supposed to be thinking of us."_

"_Us…"_

"_You and me, Ron."_

_Ron nodded his head, "I'm sorry. You're right."_

"_Don't let Kim ruin your life further."_

"_You never would," Ron said quietly. He moved closer to Tara, placing his hand on her bare arm._

_Tara_ _shivered and nodded, lying down. "It's what I've been trying to tell you this whole time." _

_Together, the two lay on the bed facing one another, their faces ever so close. Tara_ _had her arms tucked into Ron's chest and Ron had one hand on Tara_'_s arm. Again, they moved close to kiss one another and start their night and perhaps even Ron's recovery. But just as they were about to press lips, Ron pulled away again not looking at her._

_She waited for awhile, but soon it became clear that Ron would not continue. "Maybe you'd like to talk about what happened instead," Tara_ _asked. "Have you ever talked to anyone about it?"_

"_I don't wanna."_

"_What's wrong with me, Ron? Why can't I ever do anything to help you?"_

"_Tara… you… you gotta believe that it's not you. It's just me being, like, dumb and stuff, ok? When Kim and I, like… became unfriends, it didn't happen too cool-like, y'know? There was stuff going on and… it's not something you can just toss out a window. Or I can't at least."_

"_I'm trying to help you…"_

"_I know," Ron smiled back at Tara, trying to lift her spirits and feeling sorry that his friend was taking his troubles personally. "But I don't think I can do this… not yet."_

"_I understand."_

"_I haven't been feeling well anyway, you know that."_

"_True. Maybe…maybe another time? When you're better?"_

_Tara_ _didn't see Ron's eyes flicker as she turned her head down to hide her blushing. All she heard was: "Maybe."_

_Ron had taken his hand back, no longer touching Tara. "Need a drive home?"_

"_I'm fine, I told Bonnie I'd be going back home with her and Hope."_

"_Cool."_

"_Will you be ok? You know you can phone me anytime you want, let me give you my phone number."_

_Tara_ _sat up and scrounged in the nightstand drawer for a sticky note and pencil. Ron too sat up and waited for Tara_ _to write out her number. He took it, pocketing it. _

"_Thanks."_

"_I look forward to seeing you on Monday and at the Regionals."_

"_You too," Ron replied. "And, Tara?_ _Thanks for understanding."_

"_I'm patient," Tara_ _returned, smiling kindly. She leaned forwards and kissed Ron on the cheek before departing. Once she had left, Ron leaned back down, staring at the ceiling, his mind delving deep into thought about what he had just done._

_He had turned down a beautiful, innocent girl for one that hated his very existence and had just shot him down again. There had to be something very wrong with him. Or… or something very right. _))

"You… you never slept with Tara."

The memory dissolved and Kim and Ron were left alone again. While Kim had watched the memory play, her mind rapt, she had sat up leaning as close to Ron as she could. He held her in his arms, hers placed on his chest.

"I never did."

"She was willing to _sleep_ with you and you said no."

"Kinda."

Kim gripped Ron's white shirt as she thought this out. Ron really had turned down Tara, a girl, Kim thought, who was more beautiful and gentler than she for herself. And when Kim had hated him too! It only backed up what Ron had been telling her this entire time. More evidence of how wrong Kim had been. If all Ron had desired from Kim was to sleep with her, than he would have taken Tara when he had the chance. But he hadn't. It meant…

"I really _do_ love you," Kim whispered, burying her head into Ron's chest. Being so close to him, even if their bodies were imagined, was so intoxicating to Kim. She just wanted to lay with Ron forevermore.

Ron opened his mouth as if to mention something, but Kim interrupted by kissing him. He was initially surprised, but he returned the kiss and Kim's arms slipped up and wrapped around his neck. When they parted, Ron slid down so the two could lie on the bed, Kim resting her head once again on Ron's chest.

"You know," Kim said finally. "You really should wake up… Then… this… could become…"

"Real."

"Yes," Kim replied. "This could be real." As she thought this out, her eyes snapped open and she struggled to sit herself up. "Ron! You really _should_ wake up! I don't know how much time has passed in Reality! They said they'd pull your plug in a week, I don't know how long I've been in your mind."

"But-"

"Wade didn't have everything under control when I left him, he was this… Wade-bot-thing—and the security guards were attacking him and-" Kim clutched her head, pushing her hair back. "It was utter chaos! You've got to wake up _now,_ Ron!"

"No!"

His cry of defiance startled Kim and she looked at him, shocked. Hadn't they been through this? Hadn't everything been cleared up?

"What do you-"

Ron wrapped his arms around Kim's waist, sliding her close to him firmly. "No. I can't, I won't."

"_Why_?"

"Because I like it the way we are now!" he retorted. "Kim, look at us! W-we're together again… We're enjoying each other and we're not hating. You were right, I let go of that huge grudge so I could be with you like this. Let's not ruin that." And he pulled Kim close and breathed her in, even if her body was only imagined.

But Kim struggled and pushed herself away from him so she could look into his eyes. "What are you talking about? Why can't we be like that in Reality? All you have to do is wake up and…"

She didn't finish her sentence; Ron was shaking his head slowly. "No…" he murmured. "It won't be like this in Reality."

"And why not?" Kim huffed. "It's either this isn't real and you're snuggling up with some fantasy of yours or I'm real! And if so, which _I am_, I'm most certainly going to uphold everything I've told you here in Reality. Why else would I come into your mind and have the breakdown I did, huh? So which is it, Ron? Which one?"

"Kim…"

"Ron—"

"You don't understand… I'm still going to die. What you said when you put your arms around me, you said you wanted to be with me before I die. You said you didn't want to leave me. You _did _save me, KP. I want it to be like this, not alone with all those bad memories. But like this, with you. You saved me from a lonesome death, full of hate and… no you…"

"_But you don't _have _to die_!" Kim practically exploded. She pushed herself up, her hands still on Ron's chest to give him her look of outrage. Locking her eyes onto Ron's fervent fearful brown ones, she said seriously, her voice nearly trembling: "I meant I wanted you to come back with me to Reality! Didn't you listen to me at all? Why, Ron? Why after all I've said, do you want to die? There's… I… there's nothing more I can say that hasn't already been said! And you _still_ want to die!"

Ron sat completely still as he stared back into Kim's eyes persistent on consoling him. With her hands on his arms, Kim realising that he was shaking. She applied more pressure on his arms to try and still him.

"No…" Ron whispered, scrambling away from her and trying to slip out of her grasp. He began to shake his head, "No, no, stop it, Kim. Please, don't start this again… I could have died in some sort of peace… I could have…"

"Ron!" Kim leaned forwards, trying to catch his eyes again but they were darting around, frightened and panicked. He continued to squirm underneath Kim, determined to escape the argument that was inevitable now. "Listen to me! You have to trust me…"

"No… no, no. You've lied to me before. I'm not going to fall for that again! Don't _you_ understand? Nothing's perfect, nothing can stay perfect. If I go back to Reality, something will happen and you'll go back on a promise or you'll jump to a conclusion or… or… or _I'll_ do something stupid…"

"Ron—?"

"I did… Oh, KP, I'm sorry! I lied to Josh!"

"What!"

"I told lies to him about you so he wouldn't like you!"

"Ron…"

Tears slid down Ron's cheeks. "You need to know… before I die… then maybe… maybe you can patch things up with him again. Tell him I'm sorry for doing that to the both of you. I lied about you to him and I did everything I could so you two wouldn't be together cos I like you so much… I'm _sorry_. I deserve this… You're not the only one at fault. There I go again! I'm making you believe it's all your fault, but it's not… it's me too and—"

"Ron, stop. Ron, please, just… stop…" Kim's mind was whirling with this new confession of his. So he hadn't been completely truthful. Ron _would_ never hurt Kim, never think or do those things to her that she had assumed before entering his mind, that was still true. Of course, the key words were 'to her'. But he would lie to others… Didn't she know this though? He'd done it before and in front of her too. Ron had this habit of not understanding lying or cheating against _others_, as long as it wasn't Kim whom he treasured.

_But he doesn't do it with purposeful malice_, Kim knew. Ron wasn't mean or a bully. This _is what he can become confused about; not about hurting me. Like how he doesn't mind cheating on an exam or pasting stuff from the internet, it doesn't cross his mind as wrong. But it does if I'm involved directly..._

While Kim was thinking hard on the matter, Ron was continuing. "I _did_ lie. I am a liar and…"

"But not anymore!" Kim interrupted his babblings abruptly. "You told me the truth," and she smiled at him. Even if Ron had been saying lies to Josh, even if that was _wrong_… She still wanted Ron more than she ever thought she wanted Josh. And before Kim could talk about Ron's wrong-doings, she had to let him know that he was most important to her and nothing would make her go back to Josh.

"I don't want to be with Josh, no matter what you said to him." Ron was shaking his head. "I forgive you! I don't want you to die. No matter what you said to Josh or whatever you did can't justify allowing yourself to die. I forgive you but…" A light bulb lit in Kim's mind. "Do you forgive me? You never said you did."

Ron's eyes were wide open and he was breathing heavily, a reflection of what his body would be doing in reaction to his frantic mind if he _had_ a body at the moment. His breathing, although still audible, became more levelled.

"I'm asking for you to forgive me for everything I've done to you. If you forgive me, then all that we've been through: your pain, those memories… they'll be put behind us. And, _and_… you will not want to die. Because you'll want to live and be with me, you'd have forgiven me."

She watched Ron continue to 'breath' as everything she said sunk in and the gears in his mind struggled to comprehend every detail of her words.

"You forgive me?" he asked in a whisper. "Even though I may have ruined your chances with Josh? It was _me_, Kim. I—"

"I forgive you for that. That means I understand everything that you did was _not_ cool but… I love you enough to keep on loving you through your faults." Kim breathed in when she began to understand herself what _she_ was asking of _Ron_.

Swooning on to him, Kim wrapped her arms around his body, trying to hide her tears. "Ron, you have to believe me. I promise you."

Ron stilled himself, his breathing calmed down and Kim soon felt his hand on her head, gently stroking her hair. She leaned into it, allowing him to soothe her, even though she knew it was the other way around.

"Kim… If you'll still l… lo…"

"Love?"

"Yea. Even through all the dumb stuff I do and I know I do a lot of dumb stuff, I know I'm not smart and I'm not the greatest artist. I'm not, like, a total babe-magnet (sometimes) and I make a lot of stupid decisions. But even with all that you forgive me then—"

Before any of them could continue, the void began to tremble again and the two shot up, staring wildly at the nothingness surrounding them.

"What's going on?" Kim panicked.

"I-" Ron began but all of a sudden, his imagined body began to flicker and pull apart.

"NO!" Kim screamed. No, no…. It was happening… It couldn't be… "What are you doing?" she cried at Ron.

"I… nothing!" Ron replied, he leapt off the bed and stared down at his hands. "Kim, what's happening to me?" he asked tersely. His hands trembled and they flickered again, he was loosing control of his form…

Kim bounded off the bed with one hand to stand beside Ron and try to hold him together by wrapping her arms around him tightly. But it wasn't helping, his body continued to pull apart like a bad television reception and Kim could only stare in horror, helpless.

"_They're killing you!_" Kim cried, the tears really now rolling down her cheeks. She wanted to scream at Ron to defy it and hold together, but she knew that it wouldn't be possible. It was something neither of them had any control over. "I'm not going to let you die!" she screamed.

"Kim!" Ron sobbed, staring, bewildered, at his failing body as the void continued to tremble.

Above their heads, memories were flying across the void. Like a great interstate, rows of memories were being shot in one direction, while another group were flying in another. Not just memories, but dreams and all other parts of Ron's mind.

Finally Ron gave out a cry as his body flickered once more and then altogether vanished.

"_RON!_" Kim screeched, grasping for where he had been momentarily. "Come back, Ron! Come back!"

Suddenly, Ron no longer contained in an imagined body, his mind began to expand and attach itself to all other parts of his mind as if becoming one. The vastness began to crush Kim's mind and, looking at her own hands, she saw them flicker too.

"They're killing us! How…" Kim sobbed, tears streaming down her cheeks as it really began to hit her. They would die. Even after all they said to one another, all they had been through… it had been all for nothing. They'd die, right now. "How could they do this!" What about Wade? Where was he while this was happening?

((_Kim, you gotta get outta here!_)) Ron's mind spoke from everywhere. ((_I… my mind's gonna crush you if you don't get out, there isn't room for both of us now_!))

"I'm staying with you!" Kim spat, furious at the outside world for what they were doing to them. How dare they! "I can't live without you and you know that! If you die, then I'm coming with you!"

((**NO!**)) Ron's mind boomed from all around and Kim cried out in pain as it shook her mind like a mind-splitting migraine, furthering the fallout of her body. ((_I want you out _NOW.))

"Absolutely not!" Kim retorted and again Ron tried to force her out by intentionally adding pressure on her mind. Kim cried out in massive pain and then altogether lost hold of her body.

Like when Kim first entered Ron's mind, her existence became vast and nearly everywhere. It was a strange feeling to feel so massive and yet so singular. But unlike before, Kim _felt_ Ron all around her. Not just top, bottom, left, right, but _everywhere_ and _all_ around her, like he was wrapped all around her yet not tightly… yet.

((_Get out!_)) Ron cried, ((_I'm not gonna let you die with me!_))

((_Too bad!_))

((_I said _GET OUT.))

Again Ron pushed on her, hoping it would pressure Kim into leaving. Kim fought hard against him, struggling desperately to fight his pressure and the pain it caused her. But while that was happening, Ron was becoming more and more vast, attaching to the rest of his mind slowly. The vastness, too, crushed Kim giving her little room to exist. Soon, the 'space' she was in shrank and if she didn't escape then, he really would crush her out of existence, causing her to 'die' before him.

((_Kim, please! Maybe… maybe you can stop them! I don't want to die…_))

Kim felt her mind alarum with surprise at Ron's words when not too long ago, Ron had been waiting happily for his death. But it could also be a trick into saving her life, maybe there wasn't any chance of stopping what had already begun.

((_Please, stop them, Kim!_)) his mind shuddered all around her in fear, ((_I want to be awake with you again…_))

((_I…_)) Kim wrestled on what to do. She could go and perhaps save Ron, but if she arrived too late Ron would be dead and she'd have to face the rest of her life without him. If she stayed, the two would die, Kim first by the extreme weight of Ron's entire mind.

((_I don't want to die yet!_))

That made up Kim's mind, even if the chance of saving him was slim, she would try. She owed him that with all that she had put him through. Ron no longer wished to die alone and miserable—he desired to live, especially now that she had told him of her love for him.

((_I'll save you, Ron!_)) Kim replied defiantly. Preparing herself to leave Ron's mind, she called upon the real body she had left behind to bring herself into waking and thus return to Reality. ((_So not the drama!_))

All around Kim, Ron's mind continued to crush her unintentionally. Like an elephant sitting on a wooden chair, she felt her mind ready to explode in all directions. The pain was so immense and searing, it was the worst headache that anyone could ever have. She felt her whole mind _screaming_ with the pain of being weighed down and suffocated.

_Time to leave_, Kim thought frantically, her thoughts clouded by her pain. _Hang on as long as you can, Ron!_ With that, she felt her body so distant from her mind, call back to her mind, her brain wanting to connect with the indescribable realm of her mind.

Slowly, she felt her mind pull away from Ron's. Kim was so fearful about leaving Ron behind. Perhaps she was even leaving him for the last the time… perhaps this really would be the last time she would be with Ron… But at the same time, she was grateful to leave the unbearable crushing and throbbing headache that he caused her.

Kim felt herself being called back by her body and brain, and knew that if she had a body to cry with, she would be sobbing horribly.

((_I'll see you again!_)) she called to him, now so far away from her. ((Remember, _I forgive you!_))

((_Kim-_))

But she never heard what he might have said to her. For she was pulled away completely from Ron's mind, free from the weight and now unknown to what was befalling him. For Kim, she felt a steady calmness sweeping over her rather than the widening of eyes being brought forth into waking. The calmness swept all across her mind despite her fight to wake. Instead of the brightness of the outside world, she was brought into a serene darkness.


	9. Waking & Thereafter

Thanks to Reviewers: Deyinel, conan, John Steppenwolf,Masau, louise, Zaratan, BrattyBrina, spectre, AnimeChick, JPMod, Dragonslayer, Ultimate Naco Topping, Tragic Eyez, nessa, Taka, akemi, thsunami, Dr.Cube, Razzle Jazzle, zero, momike, LJ Fan, Kristy, coolgreencat, Kari, Syani, eckles,loser7, mattb3671, ZDafara770, Cold Chaos, willk1989, Marky1.0, knuckz, RonRules, Rukia, AndyCosta, The Infernal, vanillalilies, sinister banana, Rufus 986, Ace Ian Combat, minute-to-go, John, pheonia, Char & Loo (Princess of the Cows!). 

note: I thought it was quite clear, but just in case anyone's confused: '**So the Drama' movie does not exist in the Equal Romance storyline**. This is not a post nor pre story to the movie. While _most _of the episodes have happened in this story, the final movie has not and will not. 

ps: reviewer **pheonia**, you were spot on! I was surprised & pleased, special reviewer love to you! 

-A. King

* * *

¤ Instalment 09 »» _Waking and Thereafter _¤

You don't know how I feel when you smile at me like that.

Can you see that you are the one to bring me back to life?

Every time you come around, every time you smile at me,

Every time you come around, can you tell me you love me?

-ClaZziQuai, '_Sweety_'

* * *

Waking came to Kim with a foggy mind. She moaned softly as her mind slowly opened and consciousness came unto her. Sluggishly, her eyes crept open and she discovered herself slumped, still in the seat beside the hospital bed. Wincing, she groped her head while her body was still drunk with tiredness. While she frowned, Kim felt something on her forehead, pulling it off (it felt like it weighed tonnes!), she realised it was the Emerson Cap with some kind of… amulet… _the amulet!_

Instantly Kim shot up, almost leaping out of her seat altogether, but she settled down again as the dizziness slapped her back into her seat. She tried to force herself to recount what had happened despite her reeling mind… _Focus, focus…_ but her mind wandered, here, there, as if it was not fully one piece but then… then it all came to her.

She had been in Ron's mind! No wonder her mind ached so much. She recalled pressure being applied to it, her mind being _crushed_. What else happened? Her head was throbbing far too much for her to remember anything else.

She didn't even notice her parents who were sitting on the plastic plush sofa across from her, both of them reading magazines. They had jumped, startled at their daughter's sudden awakening and abrupt reaction.

"Kimmie!" her Mother called but Kim was too concerned with Ron who lay immobile on the hospital bed, cap and amulet still on his head.

"Ron," she spoke awkwardly, confusion taking hold of her. She didn't understand, shouldn't Ron be awake? Hadn't they been awaking when Kim left him? Otherwise, why would she have returned? Or had something else been happening when she left his mind? She couldn't remember… it was as if all that lay in that area of her memory was a blank space.

Then Kim's eyes darted to the life support. It was off.

"You… you shut off the life support!" Kim's voice cried out, strangled to comprehend what her wide eyes were seeing. Then it all hit her in a flash so that she actually stumbled a few steps backwards. She had left not because he had been _waking_, but because he had been _dying_! It all came back to her in a horrendous flash that shocked her mind.

It was too late.

"Kimmie-cub," her Father spoke tentatively, putting down the magazine he had been reading. "We _had_ to…"

"No!" Kim's voice was shrill. She whipped around on her parents, bewildered. "You… _you killed him_." Kim was now standing by Ron's bed and she lurched forwards, dizzy with the notion that she had just accused her parents of…

Ron was dead.

They _killed _him! Even through all she had been through, all _they_ had been through, it had all been for nothing! Kim brought a fist to her mouth, curving her head, she sobbed erratically, breaking out into great cries. How could they do this!

"And where were you!" she screamed at Wade on the screen of the Wade-Bot 4000. Wade-Bot was sitting next to the sofa near the Emerson machine. She thrust a finger at him and yelled again: "You were supposed to be watching over us! You were supposed to make sure they kept away! Ron was going to live! He was coming, you just didn't give him time and now…" Kim felt like she was going to be sick.

Wade on the screen looked appalled and anxious, the screen on the robot shifted like a neck to look at Kim's parents, exchanging a glance with them. Her parents were again attempting to speak but Kim cried out again.

"Stop, I don't want to hear it. I hate you. I hate all of you! You… Ron…"

She couldn't look at them anymore; she couldn't bear to see them. Staring down at Ron's white sheets, she gripped them hard in her fist. Murderers. They were all murderers in Kim's view. They had killed him, taken his _life_ from him! From her! Her knees buckled underneath her as it began to hit her… Ron wouldn't be in her life anymore… he was _gone_. Gone as in _gone_. There was no way to make him come back, no special amulet for this.

Emotion rising, she rounded on her parents, barely able to speak. Tears flowed in rivers down her face leaving streak marks, her face ugly with desperation and fury. "You killed him! How _could_ you! He was going to _live_! You're all so selfish! You're murderers, you killed him and I'll never get him back…"

"Kimmie, please, lower your voice," her Mother cautioned.

"Lower my _voice_? _When you killed him_! How _dare_ you tell me to lower my voice when _Ron is DEAD_!" Her voice was becoming hoarse. She turned away again, crying.

Gasping, she flung herself onto Ron, his dead body. He had never made it. He always loved life; Ron was always such a happy, joyful person, loving to joke and smile… she remembered his smile, his great toothy grin and she sobbed again, swallowing some of her tears.

His life before the coma had held so much pain and it had all been her fault! If she had never jumped to conclusions… if she had listened to Ron, _her Ron_, then none of this would have happened. She had loved him.

At least… _At least I was able to tell you… maybe that's what it was all for, to tell you that I loved you… Maybe you died in some peace knowing that… But I don't care because I want you _here _with _me!

"I'm sorry…" she murmured softly, "I did everything I could… but I wasn't able to save you…"

"Kimmie…"

"_GO AWAY_," Kim shrilled, clinging to Ron as hard as she could, burying her face into his chest, masking her tears on his hospital shirt. "You killed him…" she repeated this over and over through her sobs. "He's dead… he's dead… Oh, Ron…." She continued to sob and murmur, feeling increasingly dizzy.

She could barely think of the future, Kim was so consumed with all her emotions, but she couldn't bear to think of a life without Ron. Not when she had been with Ron ever since she had been little. They had known each other for so long, _always_ been together, did everything together… How could he die and her live on? She couldn't do it…

Could she? Could she join him? Choose to be with him? She wasn't thinking straight and made no promises, but every time she thought of a world without him…

"Ron… You killed him…"

"Please, Kimmie," a soft hand on her shoulder; her Mother's. "Come off, let him be, he-"

"_NO!_" Kim almost broke her vocal cords. Furiously, she turned her head, glaring hatred at her Mother. "You can't say that to me. You let his parents do this to him! You can't say that to me, not _when he's dead_." Instead of drawing away, she pulled closer to Ron, her head nestled into his… "Ron…"

Kim could see nothing. Her eyes were shut yet still spilled tears. There was silence surrounding her, perhaps her parents finally came to their senses and let Kim be with Ron… let her be with him before they took him away from her forever…

"Kimmie-cub, you have to come off," her Father said gently. Kim defied them and clung to Ron tighter. "Kimberly-Anne," her Father's hand on her shoulder and still Kim clung even tighter to Ron. So tightly that she didn't know she could muster this much strength. So tightly that she heard a gasp. And it wasn't her own.

Kim paused. Kim pulled away and… found herself looking into Ron's eyes. His _open_ eyes, although heavily weighed down with weariness, they had life. _Life_. Kim gasped so loudly and jumped to her feet, hopping a couple of times, a hand covering her open hole of a mouth.

Ron shifted himself; he looked fairly grumpy and disgruntled. With difficultly, he tried to sit himself up higher against the pillows propping him up. Mrs Possible, the closest besides Kim, helped him. Ron blinked his eyes many times looking extremely drugged (he probably was) but they swooped onto Kim and she froze.

"Ron…" she gasped, "You're alive…" (Ron sniffed) "_You're alive!_" Swiftly, Kim flung herself at Ron, the people around her gasped as Kim pressed her lips against Ron's. She felt him bristle underneath her, but didn't pull away; her heart was filled with too much glee to care.

"Kim!" she heard her Father gurgle.

"That's so nasty…" came Wade's voice.

Nothing came from her Mother, but Kim had a nagging feeling that if she could see her Mother's face, she would be smiling. Smiling as much as Kim was when she pulled away from Ron, laughing nervously as she looked down at him. Although Kim had shocked a great many of people in the room that day, no-one was as shocked as Ron.

Ron looked beyond bewildered as Kim laughed and glomped him, yet softly as she could, but that was certainly difficult. Kim was filled with so much elation, she felt like she could latch onto Ron and never let him go. She snuggled him, laughing.

"Oh my goodness," Kim wept happily, "I thought you were dead!" She rounded on her parents, an arm still around Ron's middle. "Don't do that to me! Why didn't you say anything?"

"We tried!" her Father blustered, still blown by Kim's greeting for Ron. "You wouldn't listen!"

Mrs Possible laughed softly, "He woke about an hour and a half before you did. You were still… 'asleep'? Ron was taking a nap when you rudely awoke him," she teased.

"Sleeping, hah!" Kim snorted playfully, turning back to Ron who still looked frazzled. "I'm sorry I accused you guys of murdering him… Sorry." _I gotta stop doing that._ "But I don't get it," she continued, "When I was in his mind… didn't you guys pull the plug? I mean…"

Mr Possible shook his head, "He woke on his own. A day before his plug was to be pulled."

"On his _own_?" Kim repeated, thinking it over. Perhaps… maybe Ron hadn't been dying at all when she had been in his mind during their departure. What if that had been his body waking him? She recalled his memories flying in groups in different directions, how his mind began to attach to the rest of his mind and probably his brain too… of course. He had been _waking_, not _dying_!

She paused, looking at Ron, he still had this air that he wasn't really… '_there_'. "Is he ok..? I mean, like, Ron— say something to me."

"He can't," Wade informed, the Wade-Bot rolling forwards to join the rest of them.

"Why not!" Kim frowned, anxiety beginning to grow on her, she looked back at Ron. He wasn't looking at her; he wasn't really looking at anything. Something about his eyes seemed distant and even unintelligent.

Wade chuckled, "He was just been in a _coma_ for two months. It's amazing that he can shuffle about like he can!"

"But he _will_ be able to speak again?" Kim pressed desperately.

"Of course," Mr Possible responded, "He actually mumbled a couple of words when he woke."

"Really?" Kim replied eagerly, "Well, what did he say? Did he… what did he say?"

Mr Possible put an arm around his wife's shoulder and together they laughed softly. "Well, he mumbled something along the lines of, or so we assume: 'Wha?', 'Kim?' and 'Naco?'."

Kim laughed delightedly, clapping her gloved hands together and wiped away the remaining tear in her eye. "Yup, that sounds like the Ron I know! When do you think he'll be able to speak more? And move? I… I want him home for Christmas!"

"You make it sound like he's a pet!" Wade laughed.

Kim tsked him playfully. Nothing could bring Kim down, not when Ron was alive… not when he was here and everything would be right again.

"We'll try for Christmas, but it's already December and he still has therapy to go through," Mrs Possible said.

"Therapy," Kim replied sceptically. "Ron doesn't _need_ therapy. Ron needs _me_ and he'll be perfectly happy with me when he starts talking again. Puh-leeze."

"Not that kind of therapy," Mr Possible replied, "He needs therapy for speaking and exercising his limbs. As Wade here said, he's been lying in a bed for two months!"

"Tchach," Kim pressed her hands down, frustrated with things having to be explained to her, it made her feel ignorant. "Whatever. Look, I just want him up and able for Christmas!" She turned to Ron, "Right, Ron?" He was lying down, staring at the ceiling. "Exactly!"

Her parents and Wade laughed along with Kim and she threw her arms around Ron again for another eager glomp. Nothing could go wrong now, not when she had him back. Not when they understood each other and had sorted everything out between themselves. When Ron was back to par, everything would be as they left it that night in her room when their hands had still been attached… and Kim couldn't wait for that day to return!

-ø-

Everyday Kim came to visit Ron after school just like when he had been in the coma. She would spend the entire day there, often purchasing her dinner from the hospital cafeteria. She would do her homework in Ron's room or browse the net and chat with Monique and friends on the Kimmunicator. She only went home when visiting hours were over, (well, only until she was kicked out by the nurses). The only time she didn't visit Ron was when she felt obligated to go on a mission. But she was taking on very few, Global Justice was still taking most of her missions during her time out. (Kim kept receiving balloons and cards to her house saying 'Congratulations! It's a girl!'; yes, Wade would not be thrilled whenever he met Kim in real life.)

Kim would sit on the adjacent sofa, her binder on her lap and textbooks surrounding her as she sat with Ron and communicated with him. He never spoke back. She would talk to him about her homework, what happened at school or cheer practice. She would tell him funny stories or talk about what he had missed on _Agony_ _County_, their favourite soap. Kim wasn't as fluent in babble as Ron had been, but she made do and pressed on despite his silence.

She knew he _could_ speak. Her parents had told her had had spoken anyway. Beside that, he would murmur 'yes' or 'no' to some of the nurses when they offered him things such as food or whether he needed a warmer blanket. Not only that, but the specialist was now coming in for his therapy.

Kim would watch like a mother hawk over the doctor and his techniques with Ron with a critical eye. She would hover over them or stare from her spot on the sofa. She made the doctor increasingly uncomfortable with her scrutinizing eyes. The specialist had, on many occasions, often politely suggested Kim leave the room but Kim would retort heatedly that Ron needed and wanted her there. As usual, Ron never said anything.

She didn't understand _why_ Ron wasn't speaking when she knew he could say a few things. Kim remembered Ron as a _very_ talkative person, always willing to stick his input in wherever and whenever. Often Kim asked him questions but to no avail.

The first time this happened, she sighed and returned to her homework. When she looked up, she was startled to find Ron watching her inquisitively. Quickly she learned that he _often_ watched her. Trying to provoke a verbal response from him, she'd make funny faces every time she caught him looking at him. To her displeasure, he never laughed.

As the days went by, it only frustrated Kim more and more. It was a couple of weeks before Christmas and if Ron wasn't talking and walking soon, they wouldn't release him. Even during his therapy, sure, he'd flex his fingers and move his legs, sitting up on the edge of the bed, doing what the therapist told him, but he never engaged in the speaking activities.

Visiting hours were almost over on one particular night, when Kim approached Ron. She sat in the armchair next to his bed, her binder on her lap, the rest of her belongings packed away in her backpack. Ron was still awake as he often drifted in and out of sleep. As usual, he was watching her with those inquisitive, distant brown eyes of his. His eyes were so penetrating, so… so soft that Kim often found herself lost in their gentility.

"Ron, we have to talk, I know you can," she said, slipping her hands in the sleeves of her long-sleeved light magenta shirt with the dark magenta sleeves. She waited a few moments in case he decided to respond, of course, he did not. "Ron," she began again, "Why won't you talk to me? I _know_ you can." Still no response. Kim clicked her tongue in annoyance, "I thought we sorted everything out!"

Kim _did_ notice the shock that lit up in Ron's eyes. They darted nervously and then returned to rest on Kim, still laden with confusion.

"_Talk_ to me Ron," Kim insisted. "Why won't you speak to me, when I know you can after we sorted everything out? I haven't talked to you in _months_, Ron. Not the real you in Reality, that is." More silence between them and Ron appeared to actually be thinking, but he was too slow for Kim's likings. "_Speak_ to me now or I'm not going to speak to you until you do!"

Ron's mouth parted slightly. "I…" he said and Kim perked up, waiting. He played the sound on his tongue, "I…" Then: "I don't..." a pause, "Understand." He gave a small cough.

Kim sat, blinking. "What do you mean you don't understand? What's there not to understand?" She gave a small incredulous laugh. "_I'm_ the one who doesn't understand!"

But again Ron repeated more firmly, "I don't understand."

"Don't understand _what_?"

He closed his eyes and then opened them again, actually becoming accustomed to this strange thing called non-fragmental sentences. "Kim… w-what are you doing here?"

"Um. Sitting?"

Ron's voice rose in pitch, showing his emotional fraught. "But you hate me!"

Kim froze.

"I-I'm s-sure you hate me, Kim. You… I don't understand." His voice was soft and raspy and he had to pause a number of times. "You were so… so angry… Y-you shouted… I remember, I remember it all. You shouted and you hated me and you pushed me."

This time, her jaw dropped. Sitting with her back straight, she recoiled at Ron's words. "_What?_ What are you talking about Ron? You're scaring me here, ok, seriously now." Their eyes were locked and Ron did not flinch. He really meant what he said and it was putting Kim's weirdar on critical.

Before Kim could say anything, Ron spoke up again. "I… I-It's not that… Kim, it's not that I don't want you here…" He had that look about him that made Kim just want to jump up and hug him. "I really do. _Really_ do. I'm just… confused." Ron flinched as if preparing himself for Kim to start yelling at him.

"You… you don't remember anything, do you?" Kim asked softly.

"Remember what?"

Silence.

"Nothing?" Kim pressed. "You remember _nothing_ about anything that…" she saw the failing look on his face and she gave up, knowing it was useless.

Ron remembered _nothing_ of her time in his mind. How could this be! Kim thought, trying to find an answer. It was _his_ mind she had been, after all. Shouldn't he remember out of the both of them? And what about all the progress she made! Would she have to do that _all_ over again? Ask for forgiveness and… Forgiveness she never received even in his mind, she realised.

She looked up at Ron again and saw him looking at her warily; fearfully too. He still feared Kim and probably expected her to slap him for not being able to remember.

Kim thought about it hard and then it suddenly hit her. Everything… everything she had said to him, everything he had said to her… all that happened… happened in Ron's _subconscious_ mind. His conscious mind didn't remember a thing! Kim groaned, flopping her head onto the bed.

Ron looked down at her, astonished. "K-Kim..? D-Did I..?"

No wonder he had been so skittish around her ever since he had awoken! The last that he remembered of her was her shoving him into the locker; remembered her screaming at him, mocking him, sneering and ridiculing… _hating_ him… Ron must have been unduly shocked when she had kissed him.

"No. Stop, don't say that. This isn't your fault. I don't even know where to begin," Kim sighed, lifting her head again. Ron peered at her curiously.

"S-so…" he began, "Are you… saying you… you don't hate me?"

His eyes were so round with fear for her answer but still so intently curious. He must understand that he missed something during his coma.

"No."

Immediately a small smile spread across Ron's face but he still looked confused.

Kim paused, blowing hair out of her face, trying to think about how to go about explaining everything.

"Visiting hours are over now," a nurse said, popping her head into the door.

"Five more minutes," Kim demanded, "We're having a profound conversation here. You can _so_ not interrupt this."

Wide-eyed, the nurse walked away.

Kim returned to Ron, "Look, Ron. I… Do you know how long you've been in a coma?"

"Uh… two. Two months. Right?" He wasn't sure if he should be wary anymore when speaking to her now that she stated she no longer hated him.

"Yea, two months," Kim nodded. "Ron… this is so crazy, I wish you remembered… Ok, we don't have much time, so… will you be okay if I just give you a quick down-lo?"

Ron nodded, his eyes gleaming as he looked at her.

What could she tell him? And where in the world should she start? With the emotions that she made a mistake in trying to replace him with Josh and that she never really hated Ron? Or should she tell her adventure of being in his mind and finding him, leading up to their conversations? Those conversations that had been so deep, so… how in the world could Kim repeat everything they had said to him? All she wanted to do was shove her memory of them in his mind back into his; this explaining it business was far too complicated. What should she say?

"I read your letter."

Ron gasped. "Again?"

"Ron, I only read it after you went into the coma."

"Oh."

"I never knew it was in the bag."

Now Ron perked up, "Y-you didn't? A-all this time… you never… never knew it was there? So you never read it, like, at all?"

Kim giggled softly and brushed a flyaway hair of Ron's out of his face, he smiled as she did so. "Right on."

"So… What did you think?"

"Well I kissed you, didn't I?"

"You did," he replied a little smugly and she couldn't help but giggle again. But suddenly Ron double blinked and he looked worried again. But Kim was two steps ahead and knew what he was probably worried about now.

"Josh and I aren't together anymore."

That smile on Ron's face spread.

"Oh, Ron, you were right all along," she decided to change the story a little bit to reassure Ron and boost up his self-esteem. "He and I were never perfect for each other. I was stupid thinking I could replace you with him. Bad idea, that was, huh?"

"Definitely," Ron agreed, not that he really knew. "What else did you think?"

Kim laughed quietly, "You sure want to press this out of me don't you?"

"After spending as much time as… I did on that letter and getting the ink all over my hands, I th-think I ought to hear a thing or two of what you thought," Ron mumbled.

"You're right." Kim laid her hand on Ron's arm, hoping it wasn't too bold. He looked down at what she had done, but did not move his arm away. "I thought it was wonderful of you. Very brave too, to write what you really thought about me. Thank-you."

Ron continued to smile, that old familiar smile that she was used to seeing on Ron, months ago.

"Do you remember that feeling?" Kim said, her voice now a whisper. "You described a longing feeling inside of you that you felt about me. You asked me if I felt it too."

"Yea?" he whispered back, their eyes locked.

"I did."

"After you read the letter?"

"No. The whole time. Ever since I sent you home the night our hands detached. Ever since then I've felt that feeling about you and it never went away. Even when I was glaring at you, I was trying to cover up that feeling by pretending to hate you."

"And you did."

"No, I never hated you, Ron."

"But…" Ron sounded anguished.

Kim leaned forwards on Ron's bed. Being so close to him and finally awake was thrilling inside. He was _awake_ and they were _close_, something that hadn't happened in months.

"I know it's hard on you, Ron. I know how much pain you went through-"

But Ron was shaking his head in denial. "No. No, you can't know how much pain I-"

"Ron," Kim interrupted, "You have to believe me when I say I do, because I really do. I didn't at the time, but now I do. And I want you to know that the pain you felt went both ways. I made myself suffer a lot too."

Ron had nothing to say to that. Kim wondered if he doubted her. She couldn't blame him if he did, after showing Kim in his mind all the looks she had given him she knew how hurtful she had been just by _looking_ at him.

"I'm sorry."

Ron gasped softly, lifting his head. "I…" He stuttered and then lowered his head, still looking into Kim's eyes. "I'm sorry too. I shoulda… handled things differently. And some of the things I thought… wasn't really cool of me… Kim… I have to tell you… But I'm afraid…"

"Tell me what?" Kim asked, her voice still a whisper.

"I sh-should… You need to know… but… what if you hate me again? What if… I'm so stupid, it's my fault…"

Then Kim knew what he was going to say and with that knowledge, prepared herself to answer him. "Go on," she urged him. "What do you want to tell me?" she made sure to leave that friendly smile on her face.

Ron cast his eyes down, evidently ashamed of himself. "I said things to Josh."

"What kind of things?"

"Lies. About you… b-because I… I didn't like him. He asked me questions about you and… I lied. I didn't want you to like him. H-he asked me your favourite colours. He wanted to do a painting for you—"

Kim laughed, amused. "Ah, so that was your handiwork, h'm?"

"I don—"

"Yea, Ron, I'm sorry to say but colour schemes aren't your strong point. I saw that painting, the colours were grotesque. Looked like monkey barf."

Ron's eyes were wide. "Y-you're not angry..?"

"Naw," Kim shook her head. "It wasn't a cool idea you had to lie to him. But it did help. You helped me again and you weren't even there, really. It was… kind of helped to show Josh and myself how much we didn't get along." Ron stared at her, obviously thinking it all over. "And," she added, making sure he was looking directly into his eyes. "I also forgive you for that."

"Oh." Ron said. "Oh…"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Um, yea. Go ahead, KP."

Now Kim lost her confidence and she found that she could no longer look into Ron's eyes. But she forced herself to, the weight of her guilt drowning her as she gazed deeply into his eyes, they still echoed all of his pain.

"I want to ask you… if you could forgive me. Forgive me for all that I've done to you. You don't have to give me an answer now, you can think about it. But here I am asking, showing you that I know I did a little mean things to you and I am sorry. I regret them."

The passage of silence was a long one as Kim expected it would be. Ron looked at her the whole time, they flickered as he looked her all over; her expression, reading the hidden depths behind her own eyes. Then he turned away as Kim also knew he would. As he continued to look away and give no response, Kim felt the weight of her guilt increase instead of decrease. How stupid of her to assume that he'd forgive her so rapidly. _If_ he ever did.

_With all the things I've done to him, the slap, the Australian mission, the party, the lockers and then every look of every day… How in the world could he find the state of mind to forgive me and be at peace? _

Still no answer came.

"Well, you can think about it for as long as you want," she whispered. "You can see if I'm worthy."

Ron lifted his head to her as Kim stood up.

"You'll see, I'll prove to you that things will be different again."

There was another knock on the door. Kim clicked her tongue, ignoring the nurse on the other side.

"We both should have done and thought things differently," Kim said at last. "Do you know why you went into the coma?"

Ron flushed greatly and cast his head away from Kim. "I think… if I remember… y-you pushed me and…"

"No, Ron, no," Kim blushed too, the guilt massing larger within her. "That's… that's not how it happened."

Ron's eyes flickered to Kim, then away again. "Ah," his sort derisive laugh was barely audible. "Was I mistaken? Well, I was in a coma, can't say I remember much, maybe I'm wrong…"

"No, Ron, don't start that," Kim's voice rose, as did the panic again. That tone that he had just used was exactly reminiscent of the harsh yet hurt tone he had used when speaking to her in his mind. But he didn't know that.

"What happened was… Do you remember being sick? Before you went into the coma?"

"Oh, yea. Of course. I was barfing all the time in the school toilets."

Kim flushed again. "Well, you had malaria. They're still treating you for it, but you'll be okay."

"Malaria?" this caught Ron's interest just as it had done to Kim when the doctor had first mentioned it to her.

"Yea, shocking, huh? That guy from the gang fight… you caught it from him when you bit him."

"The gang fight..?"

"In South America."

Ron furrowed his brow in concentration.

"The night our hands first attached."

"Oh, right, I remember. I got malaria from that dude when I bit him?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

"But, Ron," Kim made a move towards him. "Thank-you… I know you did it for me and… I… I feel bad…"

Ron tilted his head. "But it's not your fault."

A wry smirk crossed Kim's face. "Yea, I know that. But you did it for me."

"And I'd do it again," Ron replied insistently.

_You say that even after all that I've done to you? _Kim gave a weak smile and a replied thanks. _He saved me that day… and apparently he's been trying to ever since._

Ron made a sound. "Um…"

"What?" Kim inquired.

Ron paused and was about to say something when another knock came.

"I think I better go," Kim hastened, preparing herself to leave. "We can talk about this to-morrow, okay?"

Ron fidgeted as Kim stood up, obviously not wanting her to leave him. "Wait," he called out looking distressed. "Not yet."

"I have to, Ron. They're kinda kicking me out. I'll be back to-morrow."

"I don't want you to leave me…"

Kim understood what he meant. It was instinct now: that should one leave, they might not come back for Kim felt it too, she felt it in her heart. She felt the tortured, twisted feeling inside as she thought about leaving Ron for the night. Now that Ron understood everything, and even though he hadn't forgiven her yet, everything was relatively on (thin) ice for the time being, he didn't want her to leave just yet.

They paused, staring at each other. A great longing surged inside Kim and she felt the desire to stay with him, be close with him and sleep with him like they had slept when their hands had been attached, side by side, snuggling in their loving warmth.

"I'll see you to-morrow."

"Sure."

"I promise."

Only after she said that did she realise how much that impacted Ron, the words 'I promise' coming from her own mouth. If only she could have him glimpse to-morrow to reassure him she would be there.

Instead, she leaned in and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a tender hug. She felt him lean into her as much as he could, his face tucked next to hers, resting against her hair. He attempted to return the hug, his placing just the tips of his fingertips on her side, the best he could do in the condition he was in. But to Kim, it couldn't have felt better if he had glomped her.

When Kim pulled away, Ron looked far more relieved and even a little less guilty about leaving him now.

Kim gave a slight wave and, heaving a sigh, turned and left his room, closing the door behind her. As she passed the window, she waved once more to him and he grinned back at her, happiness in his eyes… happiness…

Walking down the darkening hallways, Kim dragged herself to the elevator and pressed the call button. She couldn't believe it… everything that had happened in his mind never happened for him. He didn't remember… Nothing… He didn't remember…

… That she loved him.

-ø-

Kim did return the next day, keeping her promise to Ron and thus proving to him that everything would be back to normal. From there on, during the days that followed, it was nothing but smiles between the two. Both of them were eager for Ron's pending Christmas release.

Now that Kim was talking to Ron again, Ron was a ceaseless chatterbox. Kim repeated to Ron all about what had happened while he had been in a coma and this time, Ron asked questions, put in his own input and joined in when she was slamming Bonnie about what the venomous girl was doing to become head cheerleader as usual. Kim told Ron they had won regionals months back and Ron said he knew it all along. He did apologise for not winning the mascot division, but Kim told him sternly to not feel bad.

If Kim couldn't find anything to say, Ron surely did. She wasn't sure _what_ he could think of to talk about since he had been under for months, but somehow, being Ron, he did. Mostly he talked about Christmas. It was obvious Ron couldn't wait to leave the hospital and rejoin the outside world.

Now when the therapist came, he was positively shocked to find Ron talking up a storm with him. For the therapist, it was an overnight success! He had no clue that Ron had practiced talking the whole time at night to Rufus. As the therapist added checkmarks to his clipboard, Kim would hold her hands in fists to her mouth in anticipation, exchanging gleeful glances with Ron. Truly, it seemed all that Ron needed help with was his moving skills, walking was still something he had yet to attempt.

Despite the constant stream of words from Ron, he was still a little hesitant when speaking to Kim, but she knew it was something he would overcome. After all, months of experience had told him that speaking to Kim meant dejection and perhaps being yelled at. Kim knew this and was careful to always speak kindly to Ron, even if she was feeling irritated at the time.

But even so, his old personality was returning. She hadn't been with Ron twenty-four seven during their separation, but she knew he had lost much of it during that time. He even flirted with some of the younger nurses and although Kim tilted her head in curiosity, she understood that it was only a game for Ron and he meant nothing by it, and the nurses knew it as well.

Kim was shocked one day when, of all people, his parents came by. Kim left the room and gave them privacy with their son but tried to spy them through the window while hiding across the hall by a vending machine. They weren't in there for too long but from what Kim saw at her distance, they appeared to be happy to see Ron again (Kim scoffed). When they left, Kim slid back into the room, wondering if she should ask Ron what they talked about. Ron was smiling to see Kim again, but she wondered if it was a mask to cover his real feelings.

Kim didn't know if anyone told him they had been about to pull his plug so early, ordered by his parents. But if he did know, he made no mention of it and Kim certainly wouldn't.

His parents weren't the only ones to drop by, in fact. After news spread, Ron had other visitors from Middleton High. Monique came, Felix and Zita, even Gil and Wally. All of them brought gifts, (Gil confessed that his gift had been confiscated by hospital security). And of course, so did Tara.

Kim sat in her chair next to Ron, talking about the episode of _Agony County_ that had aired last night, (it was the only time Ron sent Kim home, to watch the show and return the next day with the goods), when a soft knocking came from the door. Expecting a nurse to check in on Ron as they usually did, both were surprised to see Tara slip in. She blushed when she saw Kim next to Ron.

"Hey," Ron called, giving Tara courage to walk towards him. "Tara! How's it going?" Kim noted that Ron seemed very happy to see the pale-blonde girl.

"I should ask you that," Tara replied, her arms behind her back.

"Much better, I mean, I'm awake aren't I?" The two laughed softly; Kim remained silent. "I might be able to go home soon," he added.

"That's wonderful news!"

From there, there was and awkward silence between the two and guilt forced Kim to speak up. "Maybe I should go eat," she said, standing up. "I'll, uh," she looked at Ron, trying to send him a message.

They had never really discussed that when Kim meant 'back to before' all those days ago, she didn't just mean they were friends again. But 'back to before' as in that night they had been torn apart. Adrenaline seized Kim when she realised again that Ron did not remember Kim's declaration of feelings towards him. Would he, when Kim left, tell Tara that he liked her? After all, that 'feeling' inside of Ron had been written _before_ his weeks with Tara. Just because he turned down sleeping with her at that time, didn't mean he didn't _like_-like her. He might change his mind now that he and Kim were friends.

She tried to send Ron all of this in one look. He only smiled back at her and she knew it was hopeless. It _was_ Ron. She'd just have to leave it in his hands.

"I'll be back in a few," she finished and walked out of the room. Before she left, she gave Ron one last look, but he wasn't even looking at her anymore. His eyes were on Tara.

Kim left the room, the feeling of dread surging inside of her. Like when his parents had dropped by, Kim went to her spot across the hall to hide and spy the two. She would have loved to be able to hear what the two were saying, but at least she would know if they kissed…

Tara sat down in the seat Kim had been in and Kim could only glimpse a little of Ron's face. Time went by as Kim watched them talk, neither of them making much movement. Kim sighed. At least this was better than them making out.

It was almost half an hour that passed, when Tara bent her head, and lifted her hand as if she was wiping away a tear. As she did, Ron shifted himself so he could face her and tried to reach out for her. Kim hissed in her breath as she watched. He didn't take her in his arms, he just reached out and continued to talk, a smile on his face. Tara was nodding repetitively, now both her hands to her face. Eventually, Tara sat up, her hands on her lap and nodded. Ron leaned back again, continuing to talk.

Finally, Tara stood up and Kim leaned forwards, expecting her to kiss him as she had seen her do before. But there was no kiss that was exchanged between Ron and Tara. Instead, Tara said a few more things and so did Ron, did she even laugh? Then she turned and left the room, waving him good-bye. Kim hid completely in her spot and only left when Tara went into the elevator. She watched Ron a bit more, he looked fine. No tears, no expression that looked like he wanted to jump out the window.

Making sure he wasn't looking out the window to the hospital hallway, Kim walked out from her hiding spot and rejoined him in the room.

"That was fast," Ron laughed. "What ya do? Scarf it all down or something?"

Kim blushed, shrugging evasively. "How'd it go?"

Ron shrugged and Kim walked up to him. When she was within reach, he took her hand and pulled her even closer to him.

"I need to tell you something."

Kim's eyes flew open and she began to blush intensely. "Oh?" she asked, trying to keep the venom out of her voice.

"About Tara and me…"

"And?"

"We…"

" 'We'?" Kim interrupted.

"We're just friends," Ron said, trying to meet Kim's eyes, but she looked away. "You know that, right? It kinda sounded like you didn't. If you're thinking about that night when I went upstairs with her-"

"I know what happened."

But Ron, not remembering that he had showed her that memory, thought Kim imagined something else to have happened upstairs. "No, you don't," Ron insisted, "Nothing happened, okay? I thought something might… but nothing did. You believe me, right?"

"Yes," Kim determinately smiled at Ron, trying her best to show him her belief in him.

"I'm with you," he continued, "That's what we… _you_ want right?"

"It is."

"You know what I mean?"

"I'm not dense." Ron opened his mouth to say something else, but Kim leaned forwards and touched her nose to his. "I know exactly what you mean."

Days past since that day when the Tara sitch had been settled once and for all and Kim continued to see Tara at cheer practice. The girl was friendly and polite with Kim just as she had been before she had let her feelings for Ron be known. Kim felt relieved that there would be no hostility between the two (it was the last thing Kim needed, Bonnie was a handful on her own, thank-you very much).

Talking about school, Kim's grades had slipped more into the Bs during those months of separation from Ron. Now, they rose back into the As and Kim felt herself on top of her school-game once more, filled with confidence, bright attitude and pleasant moods.

But soon school ended as the days closed in on Christmas. It was then that Kim was instructed by her teachers on how to fill Ron in on everything and give him credit for all he missed.

"You have to pay attention, Ron!" Kim appealed to him one rainy afternoon. Sighing, she dropped her pencil onto the plastic tray that stretched across Ron's bed with his textbook on top. "You want to get as much done now, right?"

"C'mon, KP, I just woke and I'm being slammed with H-Work?"

"It's best to get it done _now_ while you're being bored to tears rather than back home where there's tons of distractions."

A grin crossed Ron's face, "Right. I get what you mean."

But Kim didn't. "Thank-_you_," she sighed again, picking up her pencil. "You just need to study and do a few tests to make up for everything. Be thankful Mr Barkin isn't giving you all the assignments!"

"Okaaay," Ron grumbled and gave in to listening to Kim read from his History textbook. "Can't it be, like, an open book test? _Please_?" He flashed his teeth at her.

"No, Ron," she smirked, tapping his nose with the end of her pencil, wiping the grin off his face. "I'm not going to let you cheat. Mr Barkin is allowing me to supervise."

"Fine, fine."

She wasn't sure how she managed it, but Ron completed all of his tests (without cheating) and Kim mailed them off to the school. There was another thing off their to-do list. At least Ron wouldn't have to worry about homework over Christmas break once the hospital released them.

And wasn't that the last thing on their to-do list?

When _were_ they doing to let him go? Kim began to panic as the days grew closer and closer, already passing the Twelve Day mark.

Ron was able to walk around now, although it was preferred with someone at his side for he wobbled slightly from time to time or careened into unsuspecting walls, feeling dizzy.

"You can do it!" Kim insisted.

With her persistently cheering him on, Ron buried himself in concentration whenever the therapist was with him, testing his walking abilities. To Kim, Ron was doing just fine and who cared if he wobbled from time to time as long as she was by his side?

She constantly pestered the staff and they would always tell her the same thing: 'he would be released when he's ready'.

"But you are!"

"I am!" Ron defiantly cried with Kim to a nurse who was checking his stats.

"Not according to the doctor you aren't."

"The doctor's on crack," Ron remarked.

"Ron!" Kim cried, appalled.

The nurse shook her head and walked out of the room.

"How many days left?" Ron questioned.

"Five."

Ron hung his head and Kim came to sit on his bed beside him, the two mourning.

The next day, they received news Ron would be released the following day.

-ø-

Mrs Possible drove Kim to the hospital the very next morning where she asked her Mother to wait in the car for her. Positively bouncing in anticipation, Kim decided to skip using the elevator and instead ran up the stairs, her bags in her hands. She raced down the hallways, avoiding nurses and patients into Ron's room.

"Kim!" he greeted her, sitting on the edge of his bed with Rufus on his shoulder also waving to her (It was so wonderful to see him sitting up on his own!). "Aren't you a bit late? I thought you'd be waiting outside the hospital doors for me starting at midnight," he taunted playfully.

"I see you're still in you're hospital garbs," Kim remarked in return. "Very fashionable."

"It's all the rage in Paris," Ron calmly retorted.

"Which is why we live in North America," Kim added, placing her bags on the bed beside him.

They instantly won over Ron's curiosity and he began nosing his way through the bags. "Watcha got in there?" he asked, "Any Bueno Nacho?"

"No," Kim laughed and tried to push his face out of the bags.

"Is it for me?" Ron continued, unrelenting, "An early Christmas present?"

Kim shrugged, "You could say that." Reaching in, Kim pulled out a brand new shirt and cargo pants for Ron that she had purchased that morning at Club Banana, it was the reason she had been 'late'.

"Oh wow!" Ron brightened, looking down at the green and yellow shirt. "You didn't have to buy me this! You coulda just grabbed something from home, y'know."

"Nonsense," Kim replied, "Besides all that stuff is _way_ out of date."

"I never noticed the date of expiration on clothes."

Reaching into the bag again, Kim pulled out a new pair of boxers and a pair of socks. "Go put them," Kim insisted.

Gathering up the new clothing, Ron walked out of the room where a nurse joined him to bring him to the washrooms to change. While Ron changed, Kim gathered up all of his cards and flowers and put them into the bag, ready for his return.

"Now _that's_ an improvement," Kim grinned when she saw Ron stand in the doorway fully dressed.

"Heck, I'd say so," Ron agreed and Rufus on his shoulder nodded. "Those Hospital clothes were, like, itchy like you wouldn't believe."

"I'd rather not."

Ron laughed, "Now let's get outta here, I've stared at these walls long enough to win a staring match with them."

"Come on," Kim placed a hand on his shoulder, and handed him his old blue winter jacket and scarf, leading him towards the elevator. "Let's take you home."

Ron smiled to himself. He wasn't sure if Kim had noticed it or perhaps it had just been a slip of the tongue, but Ron cherished how Kim referred to _her_ home as _his_ as well. It made him feel closer to her and now that he was actually _leaving_ the hospital for good, it reassured Ron that things, once back in the real world, would be just like how they used to be before that horrid night, months ago. But then, said a darker side, you never know what could happen. For now, Ron was taking it time at a time, and always wary of what was around the corner.

When they stepped outside the automatic sliding doors of the hospital, Ron froze. Kim didn't notice he had and continued to walk on until she realised Ron was no longer following her. Back tracking, she enquired as to Ron's ish.

"It… snow," he replied blatantly.

Kim looked down at the ground and then all around the scenery. "Yes," she concluded, staring at the snow covering the sidewalks, speckled in the trees and decorating the buildings. "It has snowed."

"I didn't know…" Ron replied, tilting his head with a blink in that very monkey-like way he did on occasion.

"What, you have something against it now?" Kim asked with a hand on her hip.

"No! I think it's cool!" Ron replied, an enthusiastic grin on his face. "I never noticed; I don't look out my window much."

"Well, the walls in your room _are_ pretty awesome," Kim replied with heavy sarcasm.

"No," Ron smirked, strutting past her and towards her Mother's car he had spotted. "I'm too busy staring at _you_."

Kim's jaw dropped and she was left standing in the snow, intense blush masking most of her face.

"Ron!" Mrs Possible announced to Ron as he slid into their car. (Kim had somehow regained a small portion of her senses and followed in a bit blindly). "It's great to see you again! Aren't you glad to finally go home?"

"Totally," Ron agreed. "Thanks for the lift, Mrs Dr P!"

"Oh, it's no problem," Mrs Possible inclined her head as she pulled out of the hospital parking lot, the snow could be heard crunching underneath the tires, once Kim and Ron had their seatbelts on. "It'll be wonderful to have you around the house again. We really missed you!"

Ron beamed, "Thanks."

"Do you want us to drop us off at your house?" Mrs Possible asked.

"No," Kim responded for him, "He's coming to my place. Right, Ron?"

"Ah, sure?"

"Alright then," Mrs Possible replied with a chuckle.

Kim and Ron said very little to one another during the drive back to Middleton, and Kim's house. Ron wasn't sure what to say, that and he was too captivated with looking out the window. It felt like months (and it really had, even if during those months he had been in a coma) since he had seen anything of the world outside. In the hospital, he had been mainly confined to his bed and when he did walking exercises, it had been in the hallways with no windows. Everything about him seemed to impact his eyes and there was so much to see that he felt his brain going in overload at seeing so much at one time. But he loved it all the same.

When they rolled into her snow-laden driveway and Ron stepped out of the car (wobbling slightly), he couldn't help but freeze as he stared up at Kim's house masked in the snow.

It brought back a flood of memories. The last time he had been in this house, Kim had screamed at him and struck him cruelly across the face. Even as he recalled this, he flinched in old instinct when he felt Kim step beside him; she was trying to see what he was seeing. But she could never. Everyday Ron had walked to school, he passed by Kim's house and looked at it even during the times he was determined he wouldn't. He'd look up to Kim's window and would wonder what Kim had been doing, wonder where she was when he walked home. It had been a horrible sight, always reminding him of that one night…

_But I don't need to think like that anymore!_ He told himself fiercely. _Kim and I are cool now, I can come in and hang just like before-before, that's what she said anyway…_

"Had enough time staring my house up and down?" Kim asked, grinning.

Ron stepped forwards, taking the lead so she wouldn't catch his moment of flushing. "Yea, well, she's not my type anyway."

He heard the sweet sound of Kim's laughter from behind as she jogged up to him, opening the front door for him.

He couldn't help but smile. Everything was how it used to be, everything would _be_ how it used to be. Ron watched Kim walk inside and flop down on the nearby sofa, picking up the television remote and flicking on the plasma screen. When she realised Ron was still standing outside, she shook her head.

"What are you, a vampire? You don't need an invite, just come in!" she patted the seat beside her and Ron took a tentative step forwards.

Mrs Possible walked past Ron, "Come in! I don't want to be responsible for you freezing to death," she laughed softly, as she disappeared into the kitchen.

Flushing again, Ron stepped inside, stamping the snow off his boots and shut the door behind. Ron hung up his scarf and jacket on the coat rack and joined Kim on the chesterfield.

Even though Kim was putting up a carefree, smiling front, she did know why Ron was hesitating. She did feel guilty, but she forced it out of her. Guilt was totally a thing of the past. Besides, they had _to-morrow_ to look forwards too! It looks like they wouldn't have to spend a Christmas apart from each other after all. _And the record for consecutive Christmas' spent together continues._

"What's on TV?" Ron asked.

"Not sure," Kim shrugged. "Probably a bunch of Christmas specials."

"Like… Snowman Hank!"

Kim couldn't help but laugh, "Maybe a rerun, why don't you check," and she handed him the remote.

Ron grinned eagerly, more than grateful to take the remote back from Kim. Leaning back in the corner of the sofa, Kim watched Ron (rather than the television) idly as he joyously flipped through the channels. It sent a glorious feeling through Kim to see Ron so happy once more, and even _more_ wonderful to know that she had gave him that happiness.

_Even if it is just a stupid TV remote!_ She chuckled softly.

But Ron didn't notice, he had found, not Snowman Hank, but another animated Christmas special that he appeared to take intense interest in. He leaned back on the sofa, all sense of rigid or unease lost as the TV program swallowed his mind.

Later on, Jim and Tim came in from downstairs and joined in the television watching next to Ron on the chesterfield. Kim had mostly been forgotten by Ron, Jim and Tim, not that she minded too much. Cartoons weren't really her thing anymore so she let the boys fight over which special to watch. She just took pleasure in watching Ron become his old self again.

Before when she watched Ron from a distance, all she saw him was miserable and hurt. Back then she had thought perhaps he knew she was watching and was trying to earn her sympathy. But she had been wrong. He really _had_ been hurt; so hurt, she had absolutely no understanding of it until she entered his mind.

At one point in all the television watching, Mr Possible had come home from the Space Centre where he worked and greeted his children, Ron as well.

"Hope to see you around here more often!" Mr Possible grinned in the kitchen doorway to Ron. "We haven't seen you around in so long, it was like we were missing a member of the family!"

"Daaaaaaad!" Kim wailed, whipping her head around and flushing ardently.

"It's true! He's used to visit everyday, if I'm not mistaken."

Kim pulled up her legs nervously and hugged them, trying to become invisible but was not succeeding.

"Thanks, Mr Dr P," Ron nodded, trying to ignore Kim for her embarrassment's sake. "If Kim'll let me over, I'd be glad to stay here like I used to."

"Of course you can," Kim grumbled. "And change the channel, I think that Christmas movie is starting on channel fifty-one…"

Mr Possible laughed, walking into the kitchen to greet his wife leaving Kim in a battle to rescue the remote from Jim and Tim with poor Ron stuck in the middle.

Kim, somehow, managed to grab the remote from the two Tweebs who were attempted to kick Kim away from them as they struggled for the remote but it was Ron who ended up receiving most of the kicks. Disgusted with the choice of film, Jim and Tim decided to go back to their room ("You better be wrapping my gift up there!" Kim had called) leaving Kim and Ron alone (well, with Rufus) to watch the film. It wasn't one that particularly thrilled Ron, a little too sappy for his tastes but being with Kim was fine enough for him.

"I think it's time for dinner," Mrs Possible called, poking her head out of the kitchen doorway.

"Oh, dinner!" Kim perked up, leaning up from the corner of the chesterfield. "I completely forgot about that."

"I didn't," Ron mumbled while rubbing his stomach. Rufus who was lying on the sofa headboard nodded his head pitifully.

"Thanks, Mom, but I think we'll be eating elsewhere to-night."

Mrs Possible looked mildly surprised. "Oh, alright then. Be back soon. Curfew is ten, remember."

Kim smiled, "I remember."

"Where we going?" Ron whispered, prodding Kim's shoulder.

"Where do you think?" Kim returned, standing up to stretch and yawn.

"Is it where I think it is?" Ron asked eagerly, already by the door, pulling on his snow-sneakers.

Kim ambled up from behind and pretended to put on her shoes in slow motion. "Maaaaaybe," she replied. "Tell me where you think it is."

"Bueno Nacho!"

"Maaaaaayyyybee—"

But Kim wasn't allowed to finished her drawl. Letting out a sound of shock when Ron grabbed her arm towards the door, she barely had enough time to grab her jacket before Ron bounded out the door, kicking up the snow in glee during their journey to Ron's second home (Kim's house being his first).

"Wait up!" Kim called, running across her snow-covered lawn and passing Snowy the Snowman she and her parents had erected the first day of snow (it had been during Ron's recovery at the hospital).

Trudging through the thick snow was difficult, but she managed to catch up with Ron who hadn't slowed down in the slightest. But before she did catch up with him, she couldn't help but stand back and watch, blushing, as Ron bounded, laughed and danced about in the snow ahead of her. That was the Ron Kim knew. The Ron who enjoyed life, enjoyed being who he was and barely had the fleetest of negative thoughts. Not vengeful and waiting for death, nor dishevelled, sick and depressed. No, this was him, as she watched him, she couldn't help but remember the phrase 'ignorance is bliss', how ignorant he was now, enjoying all that was around him when it was only a few weeks ago he had been craving for his life to end.

Lifting her head, Kim studied the darkening sky. Already a star or two could be seen overhead, trying to shine through the still declining light. Just in case, Kim closed her eyes and made a private wish on one of those stars. When she was done, she blushed, her eyes darting back to Ron still a ways ahead.

"I haven't had Bueno Nacho since I dunno when!" Ron cried and Kim ran up to him. "I didn't go there very much when I was sick!" No hurt remembrance came to Ron, he said as if it had occurred in a time before myth. "They might kick me out if they catch me barfing up again in the toilets or something."

Kim gave him a look of repulsion as Ron froze, double blinked and turned around, hastily moving on in conversation. "So how about you?" he asked. "When was the last time you went? Went loads with Mankey, right?"

"No, actually," Kim said. "Josh didn't really like Bueno Nacho…"

"But _you_ do," Ron spoke, his voice slightly muffled by his scarf. Kim wasn't sure if what he said was a question or a statement.

She responded as if it had been a question anyway. "Of course I do, Ron! I wouldn't eat there if I didn't like it."

"You eat the cafeteria food."

Kim snorted down a laugh causing Ron to giggle. "Don't you dare throw _that_ in my face."

Ron's eyes smiled as he laughed, the both of them now walking in stride down the street. The snow was compressed into a tight thin layer on the sidewalk so it was far easier for the two to walk in. Kim watched her breath unfurl in front of hers. Ron's mouth was now hidden by his scarf and so his breath wasn't visible. She wasn't sure why she found this of great interest.

"Do they have any new meals?" Ron asked.

"Not that I know of," Kim mentioned, "Remember I haven't been there since we were last there?"

"Aah," Ron nodded. There was a long stretch of silence before Ron next spoke: "He didn't like you going to Bueno Nacho?"

"No, he just didn't want to go," Kim replied.

Ron frowned, snorting with dislike. "What kind of person doesn't like Bueno Nacho? The dude was obviously not right for you. I hope that's why you broke up with him."

"Oh, yea, of course," Kim replied sarcastically, holding up her palms. "Liking Bueno Nacho is way on the top of deal breaker list."

"Then I'm not a deal breaker."

Kim slid a look at him. "No. You're not."

She had the sense that Ron was smiling wryly behind that scarf of his.

"How'd you two break-up?"

"Huh?" Kim started.

Ron was looking at her, "How?"

"That's kinda personal," Kim grumbled.

Ron shrugged, "I wanna know. Spill."

"Like I owe you?"

"Yea, you do."

"Since when?"

"Since the moment you broke up with him, now tell."

"Fine." Kim stuck her nose in the air, hoping Ron was also on the same wavelength and knew she was exaggerating. "Only if you promise to tell me what you said to Tara."

"Can't do."

"And why not?" Kim replied haughtily.

"That's between me and Tara only." Suddenly, his tone changed drastically and he sounded worried. "But KP, I promise you, we never-"

"I _know_, Ron. I know, I believe you." Ron didn't look like he believed her at all so she decided to cave in and tell him about her and Josh anyway. He _did_ deserve it and it didn't really matter to Kim anyway.

"He kinda broke up with me first," Kim said, not sure where to start. Immediately she received a response.

"He _WHAT_?" Ron exploded.

Kim shrugged, "He said it was over and then-"

Ron snorted derisively. "Can't believe _he_ broke up with _you_, are you sure it wasn't the other way around? How dare he, he can't do that. Now he's got the rights to go gloatin' about how he dumped you and you _know_ Bonnie will thrive on it all."

Kim slid her hand out of her pocket and waved it carelessly at Ron. "She did a little, but Ron, let me finish! He said it first then I agreed, so we both agreed on the split and so there, the end."

"What happened?"

"Huh? I just told you…"

"What provoked him to break-up with you?"

"I… I'll tell you later." Before Ron could demand her answer now, she pointed that they had arrived at Bueno Nacho.

It was air conditioned inside, warm and comforting so naturally there was a number of people inside, but seats were still available. Kim and Ron both stamped their feet on the mat clearing the snow from their boots and Ron unwound the scarf around his neck.

Walking up to the till, they order their usual and of _course_ Ron _grande_ sized, just as Rufus insisted from within Ron's pant pocket.

"Lot of people in here to-day," Ron said as he leaned against the counter as they waited for their order.

"Yea," Kim agreed, "Won't be expecting many people in here on Christmas Day though."

She heard a gasp from Ron. "Christmas!" he said, "That's, like, the day after to-morrow, isn't it?"

"Um… _yea_," Kim gave him a quelling look. "To-morrow's Christmas Eve."

"I forgot."

"Well, _apparently_," she turned around to pick up their tray with their order that Ned had just laid out for them. Ron followed her still in thought as she picked up straws and napkins from the dispensers and then trailed after her as she slid into their usual (actually available) seats.

"So soon," Ron mumbled to himself, unwrapping his taco.

"It is," Kim said. "I'm so glad you made it home in time."

Ron said nothing for a few moments and then finally snapped out of his trance when Rufus started to crunch on the nachos.

"Yea, me too! No, hey, no changing the subject, back to Mankey-boy, ok?"

"Okay," Kim groaned, rolling her eyes and taking a bite out of her own taco. She stuffed some of the cabbage into her mouth and said as she chewed (Ron struggled to hide his laughter; she still talked with her mouth full of food!):

"Welrgh, he kinda fghought we weren't right for ongh annudder cos," (she swallowed), "He kept having small dumb arguments with me, ok?"

"Oh?"

"Seriously! He got all high-horse on me on Hallowe'en and because I kept visiting you. Ok, he, like, _never_ wanted to spend _any_ time with me, he always talked and hung out with his art pals and _blabbed_ about this then _blabbed_ about that-"

"I kinda saw that at the party," Ron interjected (after swallowing).

Kim finished chewing, "I know, it was so stupid. I mean, c'mon, we're at a party, we should, like, dance or whatever. I don't know if he can do a dance that's _not_ a lame high school thing like at the Winter Formal-"

"You went to Winter Formal with him?"

Kim's mouth instantly formed an 'o' shape. "Ah… I… uh…. I did."

"Oh." Ron murmured softly. He looked at Kim, then looked elsewhere, quietly taking a bite of taco.

"But that was, um, like. Ok, I _did_, Ron. But that's in the past, ok? Old stuff, let's get over it. As I was saying… OH! Good example. Ok, I don't remember what it was about but on our drive to the school on the night of the Formal, he picked another dumb argument and it was just getting exasperating."

"What'd he say?"

"I dun reghembher, bugh ick wash shtoopid," (she swallowed) "Dumb stuff, like, I'm too bossy or _something_."

Kim completely missed the tiny quirky smile flash across Ron's face. "Did he now?" Nor did Kim notice the note of amusement in his voice.

"He _did!_" Kim cried back, incredulous. "And said other stuff, I don't remember. But it was always getting on my nerves, and get this, now get this, Ron." (Ron looked at her to assure her she had his attention.) "He had issues with you, I swear. He _hated_ it when I wanted to go visit you at the hospital and like whoah, hello? You're my friend! You went into a coma! And what, I'm supposed to be snogging him up in the art room? I don't think so."

Ron's eyes were now wide. "Y-you made out-"

"No! Never, augh. No, that'd be gross. I'd need therapy or something."

"_I'm_ the one that might need the therapy," Ron said in an undertone that Kim also missed. "And a bucket."

"So I'm just glad it's over with him," Kim munched on her taco then said: "Do you remember that game you taught me?"

"Game?" Ron asked, curious.

"Back when our hands were stuck, about using adjectives to see how well you know someone."

" 'Adjectives'?"

"Describing words."

"Oh, right! Yes, I remember."

"Well, turns out you were right. I barely knew Josh at all," Kim sighed. "Big mistake, Possible," she told herself.

Ron paused. "Well, we all make mistakes. Even you."

"I _KNOW!_"

Ron froze.

"Oh." Kim covered her mouth, "Um, sorry, Ron. I didn't mean to shout that. I just. Yea, I know I made a bunch of mistakes about you and… yea…"

"It's cool, you know now." Ron puffed his chest, "You read my letter!"

Kim couldn't help but smile her eyes at Ron, "Yes, Ron, I did. Thank-you."

_Clueless Ron as usual._ _He'll never know it was him pounding me down with the truth that really turned me over to the full version of the real story._

From there, Ron chewed happily on the rest of his second taco then proceeded to chow down on his first naco since… well, he wasn't even sure when! Kim was done with her taco and was now sharing the nachos with Rufus which Ron joined in later.

"So…" Ron suddenly began. "We, um, we walked a lot about how you were mad at me because of the handholding thing."

"Yea..?"

"But, um, like, what about the other stuff… Y-you know that I wasn't trying to hurt you when we were in Australia, right?" Kim was about to respond tot hat when Ron cut her off. "No, look, cos, the boulder, it was going to hit you! And I was trying to save you not… not… do… like, y'know… not _that_! And the party, ok, I dunno how that thing was in my pocket and—"

"Ron, Ron! Chill, breathe! It's okay. I know."

"You do?" Ron appeared greatly perplexed. "But it wasn't in my letter."

"Oh. Um. No. It wasn't," Kim suddenly realised her mistake. Quickly she covered up with, "But I put one and one together. I know you'd never hurt me like… _that_. Like that…"

"Right. Never."

"Ever."

Kim blushed fervently and turned away in embarrassment of being so near such a conversation with Ron while he furrowed his brows and looked away feeling slightly anxious.

_How silly of me to think Ron would ever attempt something like that! But… that doesn't necessary mean that, like, when he said 'never'…_

"Is there anything else?"

"Huh?" Kim was pulled out of her thoughts when Ron posed this question. "Anything else what?"

"Anything else we need to sort out?"

"No, it's all good. In fact, let's talk about something else. Normal stuff."

And so they did for the remainder of their dinner. When they both finished, Ron picked up his slurpster and stood up, standing beside Kim.

"They look a bit busy," Ron muttered.

"H'mm?" Kim asked absent-mindedly, shoving the remains of their food into the garbage and piled their tray onto the stack. "Kinda."

"You go ahead or something," Ron said, handing her his drink, "I'll catch up."

"What?" Kim asked as Ron pushed her back towards the door. "Oh, no. No. I know what this is about!"

Ron didn't move. He stood stock still and stammered, "Y-you do?"

"Let me guess," Kim placed a hand on her hip and glared at Ron, Rufus on _her_ shoulder (looking curious) for a change. "You're going to get me some Bueno Nacho Bueno Bucks for Christmas, aren't you?"

"Oh! Oh, darn, you guessed it ok, now go." He just whipped Kim around and sent her flying out of the restaurant.

Kim 'aughed', leaning against the wall behind her and pulled on her gloves as she waited for Ron to return. She shouldn't have been too riled with him, Kim rethought. This was his first day out and he probably wouldn't have time to purchase her anything to-morrow. Now Kim felt shameful, he had even seemed a bit upset; perhaps she shouldn't have announced her gift.

As she waited for Ron to return, Kim sucked on Ron's drink, trying to keep it out of Rufus' reach. Ron was taking an awfully long time, but then the line-ups had been a little long. So she dusted the snow off one of the outside seats and sat down, finishing off his drink.

By now, it was completely dark outside and all the usual stars Kim was able to see through the city lights were visible. Kim hugged herself, feeling slightly vulnerable although she wasn't sure why. It was much colder out now and she felt an intense feeling to be back at her house with Ron next to her.

_What's taking him so long?_ She wondered, casting her head to the closest window. But at the angle she was at, she wasn't able to see to the till so perhaps he was being served right then. In the meantime, Kim closed her eyes, she might have even drifted off.

She 'awoke' when Ron finally emerged, his scarf already wrapped around his neck and hiding his mouth. Kim stood up and dumped his drink that she had still been holding into the outside garbage. "Sorry, finished it all," she said. "What took you so long? We gotta head back or we'll be late."

"Sorry, Kim," Ron said. "Um, long line-ups."

"So I saw."

Ron slid her a frightened look she didn't notice, otherwise, Ron said nothing.

"And, thanks for thinking of getting me a gift. That was sweet of you. Sorry I kinda harped on you about it, I really do appreciate it though."

"Ah. O-okay."

"Hey…" And idea came to Kim. "If you want to get me another Christmas gift, I have a perfect idea."

"Huh?"

"A lanyard. You can make me one of those."

Ron looked shocked, "A _lanyard_?" he asked, sounding sceptical. "Since when do you want one of those?"

"Because," Kim replied, choosing her words carefully. "You always bragged about how well you made them, but you never made me one. I think it'd be special if you did."

"Yeah, I have," he responded as Kim knew he would. "I sent you tons from Camp Wannaweep."

Kim pretended to be surprised, "What? No you haven't! You never wrote to me from Camp Wannaweep. I thought you were having too much fun with new friends to write to me."

"Dude, what? I sent you tonsa letters and craft stuff! Maybe they got lost in the mail, I dun get it…"

_Or lost in the _trash can

"So will you make me one? I'd like that."

"Sure, of course I will! And I'll choose your favourite colours, your _real_ favourite colours."

Kim laughed, remembering the painting Josh had done for her. "That'd be best. I'm glad we've cleared up the whole Josh thing."

"Me too," Ron agreed, his voice muffled. "He's gone, The End For Real. Sounds pretty good to me."

"And _not_ coming back," Kim added, lifting a finger.

They started their walk back to Kim's house, but this time took an even more leisurely stroll than when they had walked to Bueno Nacho; perhaps it was the night air. As they walked, Kim felt the notion that she had been walking closer to him than before. She looked up Ron, still taller than her. He was looking straight ahead, his light, brown eyes looking hidden in thought.

"How have your missions been going?" he finally asked after a long silence. "Did I miss any huge save-the-world action?"

"Since when is saving the world 'huge action'?" Kim shrugged, her voice soft. "I haven't really been doing any missions." (She wasn't about to tell him about her failure streak. She remembered that Ron could be rather prideful at times.)

"Why not?" Then he growled, "Monkey-boy told you not to or something? Like, what, first he negs Bueno Nacho and now your missions?"

"That's not the reason why," Kim had no intention into going into that again. But then, she wondered if she should tell him that Global Justice extended their congratulations to Ron as well. "We're on a short mission break for awhile."

"Booyah!" Ron sounded relieved and Kim was grateful Ron wasn't asking _why_.

Her eyes skimmed over to Ron again and she wondered if she ought to venture a lean onto his shoulder. _He won't mind…_ she told herself. _We're already walking pretty close…_ She took the lean and realised she should be touching Ron, but he was no longer there.

"Hey, KP!" Ron called. Kim had continued walking and hadn't realised Ron was no longer walking with her. "Make a snow angel with me!'

Walking back to him with her hands in her pockets, Kim stood over Ron as he laid down on someone's lawn and spread his arms. "C'mon, it's fun!"

"No thanks," Kim responded, her eyebrows raised. "I don't want any snow getting in my hair."

Ron laughed, staring straight into the sky, "And what if it starts to snow?"

"Then I'll steal your scarf!" she retorted.

Ron's comment was in laughter and when he was done with his angel (he even added a halo), he leapt up, joining Kim again, taking care to sprinkle her in snow as he shook the powder off of himself. She objected loudly to which Ron cackled and fled ahead of her. Grinning, Kim scooped up some snow and crunched it into a ball, chucking it at Ron. They continued to share laughter, picking up snow and throwing it at one another playfully during their return journey to Kim's house.

When they reached her front lawn, they collapsed together in a heap of laughter on her lawn; Kim's hair was now totally covered in snow.

Suddenly, Ron leapt up and began gathering snow.

"What are you doing?" Kim called through a gasp of laughter.

"Making a snowman!" Ron called over his shoulder. "If you don't wanna make a snow angle with me, wanna make a snowman?"

"Already did," Kim collapsed again, staring directly into the sky above her.

"But you didn't make that one with me."

Kim sat up again, padding the snow off of her as she watched Ron work intently at the base of the snowman.

"Just a small one," Ron promised.

"Okay."

Kim hauled herself out of the snow and crunched over to Ron in help of packing more snow onto the base of the snowman. Rufus poked his head out and began to help as well.

"Let's put it beside Snowy," Kim suggested and they rolled their snowman next to the other.

When they were done, the snowman was about the height of Snowy's middle.

"He looks jolly," Kim commented, hands on hips as she stepped back to observe their collaboration.

"I'm gonna make him look like Snowman Hank," Ron said and knelt down to add the moustache and hat to their snowman.

"A mini Hank, how cute," Kim's mouth twitched a smile.

When he was done, Ron stepped back with Kim to examine their snowman. "Thanks, KP."

"It was fun," Kim replied, still staring at their snowman. She hoped it wouldn't melt anytime soon (or turn into a mutant).

"And so is this!"

Before Kim could turn her head in question at Ron, a ball of snow hit Kim like a bull's-eye in the back of her head. Kim let out a screech, her eyes wide open and froze as the snow slid down into her jacket and down her back.

"OH NO YOU DIDN'T!" Kim squealed and ran after Ron who was fleeing into her backyard already scooping up snow as a return gift.

"Time out, time out!"

"What for!"

"I gotta make more snowballs."

Kim let out a haughty remark and chucked her snowball at Ron then bent down for more.

"No fair, I wasn't ready!" Ron wailed trying to scoop up more.

"And what do you think I was!" she returned with jokingly cruel laughter.

"A wide target?"

Another haughty remark from Kim and Ron was bombarded in snow.

"That's not what I meant!"

The two played in the snow for a long time, laughing and romping, throwing snowballs, making snow angles and just generally enjoying being friends with the other. They had spent a lot of their energy and were now sitting on the bench on Kim's patio next to one another. Both were panting heavily and were flushed positively red in their cheeks.

"I really missed being with you, KP," Ron said finally, still puffing from running around.

Slightly startled, Kim faced Ron, blushing. "Same here. It's like…" she looked around herself and up at the open sky above their heads. "It reminds me of being on the dock with you."

She noticed Ron's eyes flicker and his features tense when she mentioned that poignant time in their lives. She had said things back then that she had broken. Kim hoped Ron would remember that she had apologised for all of that.

"Y-yea, it does. It does." Obviously he couldn't hide the hesitation in his voice.

"I liked being with you on the dock," Kim decided to continue. "I liked how we were sitting, and the talk we had."

"I liked that too. It was cool."

"It was," Kim murmured. A sudden burning feeling within Kim desired for Ron to wrap his arm around her and hug her close, but unfortunately, he was no mind reader. "I like how things are going to be like that from now on."

"Same."

Kim cast her head down, her eyes blurring. It was probably so much harder for Ron to move on than Kim, probably also apart of their personalities. Where Kim liked to just forget things and move on, Ron preferred to brood, unable to remove the troublesome memory from his mind until he was distracted by something else.

She thought about distracting his broody 'tude with another snowball, but decided she was too worn out to evade the returning ones. Instead, she shuffled a little closer to Ron.

From the corner of his eyes, Ron spotted Kim next to him, their shoulders were pressing against each other and her head was tilted towards him as she too watched the few stars dazzle above them. It was a magnificent thing, to have her at his side again, the two in peace.

Ron inclined his head to Kim's, so their heads touched. Kim's eyes darted to Ron and she smiled at him, saying nothing. He didn't need her to say anything. Ron nestled her cheek and Kim sighed in her comfort. Her breath was visible in front of her and, playfully, Ron blew his breath, watching it swirl into hers before they both melted into the air.

It was right then that the sky broke open and snow began to lightly drift down from the 'bove. This marvellous sight won over their attentions and they snuggled closer to one another, for comfort and for warmth, watching the pure, white, fluff slip to the ground, once again, the two hand-in-hand.

-ø-

Kim pulled herself inside her house, Ron pressing himself against her as he followed. Once inside, Kim was reluctant to strip out of her jacket, she and Ron were still cold, but both did so with half-open eyes.

Before they were able to clamber upstairs, Mrs Possible stood up with a cup of coffee or hot cocoa and said to Ron in a hushed voice as to not awake Jim or Tim who were both asleep on the chesterfield: "Since tt's late, if you want, you're allowed to stay the night. Phone your parents and ask if you can if you choose too."

Ron nodded, not that he'd phone his parents, he knew they'd let him. Instead, he followed Kim upstairs. If Kim allowed him, he would just stay.

Once upstairs in Kim's loft bedroom, Kim collapsed onto the bed and closed her eyes. Ron huddled by the bed, standing over her about to fall asleep where he stood. Ron wasn't even awake enough to remember that the last time he had been up in her room, she had slapped him brutally.

"Come," Kim said and strenuously lifted an arm and patted it to the space on her bed next to her.

Grateful, Ron flopped down next to her, crawling under the sheets. Kim did the same and buried herself underneath so only the top of her head poked out. Ron felt Kim breathe out and snuggle closer to him, resting an arm around him. With this as assurance, Ron let an arm of his own hang around Kim's waist, nestling in closer to her. They were both so exhausted, to heck with changing into pyjamas

Truly, being this close again to Kim was downright the best thing ever for Ron. It was so hard for him to believe that one moment she had been yelling at him and then slamming him into lockers declaring her burning hatred for him and then the next after he awoke, she was telling him how sorry she was and how she liked him in the same way he liked her.

Ron knew months had passed since he had been in the coma, but it was still difficult for him to comprehend that somehow in that time Kim had changed her mind set that he had never been able to do when awake. All that time he cursed himself for driving Kim further away from him when he thought he was making attempts to bridge their friendship and all she had needed was the letter plus some time to herself. Amazing.

But for now, Ron was even too exhausted to think about how lucky he was. All he wanted to do now was sleep… and how glorious it was to once again sleep next to Kim…

He didn't sleep for long. Ron, through his sleep-fogged brain, thought he heard the distant sound of footsteps climbing up Kim's loft stairs. He tried to ignore this by sniffling and snuggling himself against Kim again. But instead of the sound leaving, it came closer and soon Ron, through the barest slit of his eye, acknowledged a shadow looming over them outside their blankets. Still too fatigued to take the call himself, he nudged Kim slightly who shuffled and soon noticed the shadow.

Ron listened as Kim turned around and the voice of her Mother said: "It's for Ron. Please bring the phone back down when you're done."

Kim grunted something incoherent and Kim's Mother walked out of the room.

Ron hoped that pretending to be asleep would con Kim into shutting off the phone, but he was mistaken. Kim's voice was low and rich with drear when she said, "For you," and pressed the phone into Ron's face.

Groaning, Ron struggled to remain comfortable as Kim nestled her head in his chest while he pressed the phone to his ear. "Yes?" he asked.

Kim couldn't hear what the person on the other end of the line was saying to Ron, but from the distant mumble, she guessed it was his Mother. Kim put a pause on sleep as she waited for Ron to finish his one-sided conversation with his Mother, besides, she'd have to bring the phone back down anyway.

"Okay," Ron said in conclusion and pressed the button to hang up the phone and dropped it on Kim's other side.

"Well?" Kim asked, eyes still closed and head dipped into his chest.

"I have to go home."

"What?" Kim asked; she was more incredulous than she sounded. She shuffled herself so she could look up at Ron. "But it's your first night home!"

"Yea… and this isn't my home."

Kim was silent. She hid her face too well for Ron to notice her ardent blushing.

"Nooo," Kim insisted, clutching Ron's shirt. "You're staying here to-night. My Mom said it was ok."

"But it's not with _my_ Mom," Ron replied reluctantly. "I really gotta go…"

"I want you here…"

"I wanna be here but-"

"You're staying."

"I'm gonna get in trouble if I don't go."

Kim sighed, "I don't want you to get into any trouble."

"Neither do I. Kim, I don't wanna go either, I'm tired and I'm comfortable. But my Mom isn't too happy that I left the hospital and didn't come straight home."

"Why?" Kim retorted and without realising it, clung tighter to Ron. She scoffed, "It's not like she came to pick you up or anything." Then she added loftily, "I wonder how she even knew they released you."

"Kim." Ron's tone startled Kim and she looked up at him, blushing. He was looking down at her straight into her eyes. Something told her that even though they had both witnessed his childhood memory of Mrs Stoppable speaking to Kim's Mother, Ron obviously didn't share the resentment Kim felt towards his Mother for saying the things she said. In fact, Ron's hurt look actually made Kim feel guilty about what she had said. It was obviously a touchy subject for him.

"Sorry," Kim muttered in an undertone. "I just don't understand why… I-it's our first night together since… Well… I know it's stupid, but-"

"-You feel like I might not come back if I leave now?"

"Yes, that," Kim flushed, looking down again.

"I kinda feel the same…" Ron admitted. "Everything's so… er, different than how I left it."

"It is."

"But I'll be back to-morrow," Ron nodded.

"Maybe not."

"Huh?"

Kim looked back up at Ron. "What if you get hit by a car and die? What if you fall down the stairs and go into a coma again? What if-"

" 'What if aliens fly down and beam me up and I get abducted?'."

"Ron!"

Ron laughed softly, "C'mon, KP. I feel your same fears, but now you're getting a little ridiculous here."

"And can you blame me?" she replied hotly.

"Not really," Ron admitted.

They were silent for a moment and Ron wrapped his arms around Kim where they lay holding each other for a few more minutes.

"I really ought to go," Ron said finally.

"Okay, I'll see you to the door," Kim whispered back.

"Mm."

"You'll come back to-morrow, right?"

"Yup."

"It's Christmas Eve to-morrow…"

"Or… to-day, actually," Ron corrected, noticing the clock.

"Then you'll _have_ to stay the night to-morrow. You always do."

"Ever since Pre-K," Ron replied merrily. He hugged Kim and she returned the hug. "I'll definitely be there," he whispered.

Kim laughed and pulled away, sitting up. She rubbed her eyes with a fist and picked up the downstairs phone next to her. "Come on, Ron," she teased, waiting for him to sit up. "If you linger any longer, you might…" Kim couldn't help but yawn, "Fall asleep on the sidewalk."

Ron couldn't help but return the laughter, "Or maybe you'll fall asleep walking down the stairs and then _you'll_ be the one to go into a coma."

Kim let out a dry laugh, now standing up as Ron pushed himself off of Kim's bed. "Trust me," she said as she led the way down her loft stairs, Rufus asleep in Ron's pocket. "You do _not_ wanna go through all the chaos that I did. The balls of monkeys, the gunfire, the bugs, the court room…"

"Ok, I'm gonna have to interrupt you there and go: 'HUH'?"

"Never mind," Kim sang back, now flouncing in her step as she trounced down the second flight to the first floor.

"Did you say 'monkey-"

Kim laughed, "Do you _really_ want nightmares for the rest of your life plus therapy?"

"You mean _more_ therapy?" Ron countered.

"Want me to walk home with you?" Kim asked as they reached the front door after she placed the phone back on the receiver. Kim's parents were no longer downstairs, they must have retired for the night.

_Lucky them_, Kim thought slightly embittered.

"Um, er, naw. That's ok. You go back upstairs and sleep, Rufus 'n I will be fine."

"Think you can _remember_ the way to your house?" she couldn't help but tease.

"_Yes_. I turn left on Maple Street-"

"Right, actually."

"Yes. My left, your right," Ron covered up his mistake.

"Oh, wait!" Kim said and ran back up the stairs. Before Ron could wonder what he was supposed to wait for, Kim came running back down carrying a backpack.

"What's that?" Ron asked.

"Uh, some of your stuff," Kim mumbled, handing the bag to him. Ron took it and tried to peer inside but Kim closed the bag hastily. "You can open it when you get home and return the bag to me to-morrow," she answered when he gave her a questioning face. "See you then."

"See you to-morrow, Kim," Ron returned, nodding. After staring at each other for a moment they embraced each other one last time before Ron headed out the door and into the December night air.

Kim lingered in her doorway as she watched Ron walk down her street and continued to watch him until he was no longer visible. She couldn't help but sigh as he left her vision. She knew she'd see him to-morrow, but that longing inside her still hadn't been fully satisfied yet. From where Kim stood, to-morrow felt an awfully long way away.

-ø-

When Kim awoke the next morning, she was pleased to see snow slowly drifting down from the pale muddy-blue sky outside her window. Kim yawned, stretched and sat up in her bed to think while rubbing her left arm.

Yesterday had been brilliant, she thought. It felt like a dream, but there was no-way it could have been. And if it _had_ been, it certainly would have been cruel for Kim felt so much like her old self now that Ron was awake and out of the hospital. Not just her _old_ self, she felt new and reawakened too.

_All thanks to you, Ron._

Covering up yet another yawn, Kim back-flipped out of bed and bounded over to her closet just because she could. What to wear, what to wear..? Well, there was an easy answer to that question. Shoving her clothes to one side, Kim plucked out her pink Christmas sweater.

Looking at it with fondness, Kim recalled wearing this sweater every Christmas ever since Nana, her grandmother, had knitted one each for her and Ron. Yes, Ron had his very own matching Christmas sweater in blue, of course. Kim couldn't wait to see Ron in his later that afternoon. Pulling out her tight pink pants, Kim dressed into these clothes.

When she was finished, Kim sat down on her bed and picked up her red telephone and pressed her speed-dial button. Instead of the telephone automatically dialling Josh's number, it dialled Ron's.

The phone rang and rang, but Ron did not pick up the phone. Kim grunted, hanging up and redialling. She checked her clock again; Ron couldn't _still_ be asleep, could he? _He better not be…_ But still, no answer. Grimacing, Kim placed the phone back on the hook and decided to phone again after breakfast.

Downstairs, her Mother was already starting on breakfast, the smell wafting its way to Kim's nose. Now her stomach growled, greedy for some of Mrs Possible's bacon and eggs.

Jim and Tim were already downstairs in their sweaters (theirs did not match with Kim and Ron's), crunching loudly on their bacon.

"… I asked for a hyrdofluxated mutli-fuel charger," Tim said through a mouthful off eggs to his twin.

"That'd be so cool! I'm not keen on the idea of making one ourselves from scratch" Jim grinned, "Then we could _totally_ work on that—" he paused, eyeing his Mother, "That thing we were talking about."

"Not likely, boys," Mrs Possible responded from her seat next to her brothers. "I don't think the elves even know what you asked for _is_. There's bacon and eggs being kept warm on the stove, Kimmie. Help yourself."

'Thanks, Mom," Kim nodded.

"Ron had to go home last night?" Kim's Mother asked once she had joined her at the breakfast table with her breakfast piled onto her plate.

"Yea," Kim replied a little glumly. "Apparently his Mom wasn't very happy he left the hospital without them knowing."

"That's surprising," Mrs Possible commented, her cheek in hand. Before Kim could input her rather vocal agreed opinion, her Father walked into the room, a newspaper under his arms.

Mr Possible headed towards the coffee maker, asking, "What's so surprising?"

"Kimmie tells me Mrs Stoppable was a little upset-"

Kim coughed a word that (if you stretched your ears) sounded something like the word 'understatement' into her fist.

Mrs Possible disregarded her and continued, "I mean, we phoned and left a message."

"We did?" Kim asked, perking up.

"Maybe she didn't check her answering machine," Mr Possible replied, bringing over some coffee and breakfast to the breakfast table, sitting across from Kim. "I'm going to drive over to the Tricity airport to pick up Nana, want to come, Kimmie?"

"No thanks," Kim shook her head, shoving bacon into her mouth. She was about to respond with her mouth full of food when Mrs Possible gave her a dirty look, shaking her head. Rolling her eyes, Kim chewed and swallowed before saying, "I'm going to wait here for Ron." (She missed the knowing smile that slipped across her Mother's face.) "You know, he didn't even pick up the phone this morning."

Mr Possible gave a short chuckle, "Maybe he's still sleeping."

"It wouldn't be entirely out of character," Mrs Possible added, laughing softly.

Kim again rolled her eyes, "Tchach, but it's Christmas _Eve_. He knows it's a big deal."

"Maybe his parents want to spend some day time with him now that he's home," Mr Possible shrugged, opening up the newspaper.

"Kidding me," Kim muttered under her breath.

"They do have a holiday of their own to celebrate," her Mother added.

"Yea, yea, ok. But I'm going to phone him again anyway." And she snarfed down the rest of her breakfast.

"Gee, maybe you should get a trough for Christmas," Jim said, watching his sister.

"Yea," Tim nodded, "You need one with the way you eat-"

"Anymore talk like that and you'll get _coal_," Kim replied grunted, dumping her plate and utensils into the dish washer.

"Hoosah!" Jim replied, "We'll need some of that to fuel-"

"Oh, whatever!" Kim snorted and left the room.

She wasn't sure why, but the fact that Ron wasn't answering his phone made her anxious and thus irritable. Didn't he say last night that he'd come over? He _knew_ it was Christmas Eve and they spent _every_ Christmas Eve together. So what was so important that he wasn't answering his phone?

Sitting down in the sitting room, Kim sat on the sofa and reached for the telephone and dialled Ron's number. As each ring went by, Kim drummed her fingers on her leg as she waited… and waited… and waited.

_Maybe he's downstairs or something…_If he was downstairs watching television and not at _her_ house where he could also watch television _with_ her, he'd sure get it from Kim. _Can't be eating this _whole _time_.

So she dialled his home number, but the line was busy. Kim groaned, placing the phone back on the receiver. _This is like Christmas two years ago! If I have to do another globe hop to find him, he_ so _won't be getting much in the way of stocking stuffers._

Kim didn't know what to do with herself from then on, to be quite honest. She crossed her arms and mulled over the things she could do which was… positively nothing.

So she grabbed the television remote and flicked on some Christmas specials before her brothers could steal the remote. She kept the phone by her the whole time just in case Ron decided to phone her, but he never did. Hours went by and still no response from Ron, no matter how many times she phoned him. She could have gone with her Father to the airport if she knew Ron wasn't going to be here, it would have killed some waiting time.

_My life is SO boring without Ron!_ At least in the past she had been able to visit Ron at the hospital but now he was no-where to be seen or heard from!

"Kimmie," Mrs Possible called as she entered the sitting room. "Why don't you help us decorate the house before Nana arrives? Jim and Tim are already working on the lighting decorations outside. Why don't you help me with the inside decorations while you wait for Ron?"

"I… well… okay." Kim pushed herself out of her seat and followed her Mother over to the boxes of Christmas decorations that the Possible Family had waited until Christmas Eve to put up.

It really did pass the time and Kim and her Mother shared talk during the whole time. Of course, the 'whole time' did not refer to 'when Ron finally arrived' but rather 'when Mr Possible walked in the door with Nana Possible along with Jim and Tim bounding around their Grandmother'.

"Nana!" Kim called and ran up to hug her Grandmother. "It's been so long!"

"Oh, Kimmie, it's wonderful to see you again!" Nana leaned back to marvel at her Granddaughter. "I'm glad to see you're wearing the sweater I knitted for you."

"Every year, Nana," Kim replied, hands behind her back and leaning back on her heels.

"Now where's the matching pair?" Nana asked, looking around the sitting room. "Where's your friend Ronald?"

"Not here yet."

"Oh, that's too bad, he is coming, isn't he? He and his rat-thing?"

Kim chuckled, "He's supposed to be."

"Has he grown since I last saw him? Or is he still skin and bones?"

"Still the same, Nana," Kim laughed again, stepping aside so her Mother could come and greet her Mother-in-Law.

"Wonderful to see you again," Mrs Possible said genially and embraced Nana.

Kim left her parents to welcome her Grandmother into their house and the Tweebs to bound around her like a pair of over anxious dogs, both eager for a hint at the Christmas presents.

Sighing, Kim disappeared back into the background and continued to tie on some fake holly to a banner stretching across one of the walls.

It was then that Kim checked the clock and truly realised how much time _had_ passed since she had last phoned Ron. Looking outside, the sky was already darkening, usually he was here by now. Or at least _phoned_ her.

More time passed and Ron did not appear, Kim had hoped he'd arrive some time while she and her family were decorating the Christmas tree, but her hopes were dashed. The adults were wrapping up conversations and moving slowly into the kitchen as Kim trailed after them gloomily.

"Why don't you phone Ronald and ask him over now," Nana called out to Kim from the kitchen. "I still remember how his rat loves the eggnog."

"Um, yea, I'll do that." Kim replied and scuttled over to the phone, still lying on the chesterfield.

_Ring, ring, ring!_ went the phone and still no answer. _That's it_, she thought grumpily. _Ron is officially way past late, time to haul in Wade._

Scampering up the stairs to her bedroom, Kim picked up the Kimmunicator where it had been left beside the computer.

"Merry Christmas!" Wade grinned.

"Yea, Merry Christmas to you too-"

"Hey, what's up with the scowl there, Scrooge?"

"No scowl, just need some help."

"Um, okay, what can I do you for?"

Kim took a seat in her pink chair. "Did you send Ron on any secret Christmas capers?"

Wade looked a little startled. "Is he missing again?"

"Well, he should have been here by now. Can you track him? You should still have him chipped, right?"

Wade's eyes became shifty. "What are you talking about? Still have Ron chipped? Heck nooooo. Ron still chipped? Pfft noo—"

"Wade. Stop scratching your nose, take a deep breath and look me in the eyes."

"Yea, okay, scanning now."

"And?" Kim pressed.

"That saves a lot of trouble," Wade said, more to himself than to Kim.

"What does?"

"Looks like he's on his way to your place right now."

"FINALLY!"

"Your wel—"

But Kim already shut off the Kimmunicator without so much as a 'good-bye, thank-you and Merry Christmas' and flew down the steps, four at a time and down to the front door that she swung open wide.

The Tweebs had done, as usual, an outstanding job at decorating the front lawn. The lights weren't as intense as last years, or the year before… or the year before _that_ one when they had blown the power out of all of Middleton… And they hadn't knocked over Snowy or Kim and Ron's snowman either! She felt a small wave of relief flow through her at that thought.

Finally, Kim spotted a figure walking down the street from the right direction. Squinting, Kim stood on the tips of her toes and waved out to Ron. The person waved back and began jogging towards her. When he was close enough, Kim could see that he hadn't forgotten to wear his Christmas sweater.

"Hey, KP, sorry I'm la—"

"You better be! Where were you, huh? I was calling your house all day—"

"From what you did to Josh when our hands were stuck after the BN fiasco, I can imagine that," Ron grimaced. "I hope you called _my_ number and not my house number."

"I alternated."

Ron grimaced again. "Well, I hope my parents aren't upset about all the phone calls."

"Sorry, but don't avoid my question, where were you?"

The two stepped inside after Ron stamped his feet on the mat.

"You can't believe how worried I was after all that's happened. I mean, like, I was beginning to think maybe aliens really did come and beam you up!"

Ron let out a laugh. "Maybe they did!" and walked over to the chesterfield and picked up the remote.

Kim sighed, "You missed the tree decorating, they're starting to make eggnog in the kitchen."

"Are they!"

"Are they!" Rufus mimicked and poked his head out of Ron's pant pocket.

In a flash, the two were gone and could be heard in the kitchen. Kim followed slowly and was soon dragged into the festivities by an ever eager Ron.

_This is the way it should be_, Kim thought merrily as she took a sip from the eggnog they had just made. _Everyone's all here and all is well._

"Now who wants to help set up the Possible Family Skit?" Mrs Possible announced.

Everyone cried out in enthusiastic agreement, Kim included.

-ø-

"Merry Christmas, Kimmie." Mrs Possible leaned forwards and kissed her daughter on the forehead; Mr Possible doing the same.

It was hard to believe, but all the Possible Family Traditions had been completed a few hours ago and the Christmas Eve dinner digested. Jim and Tim had fallen asleep on the floor during a (what they thought was a very boring) black and white Christmas movie. Kim and Ron were sitting up, nestled together, sharing a blanket. Nana, too, had drifted off in an armchair, a blanket lain over her.

"We'll see you too in the morning," Mrs Possible whispered, carrying the twins. Mr Possible went over to his Mother and quietly woke her for bed upstairs.

"Merry Christmas," Kim whispered back with a yawn, watching her family leave the room to retire for bed.

The room was silent, the television now airing another black and white Christmas film on mute. The Christmas tree lights were still on, the only lights on in the entire room, in fact. She smiled softly, gazing at the tree with glazed eyes as she remembered Ron and Rufus stuffing their faces with the candy canes. She remembered Ron had swallowed down a 'particularly bland tasting one' only to have Kim screech that it had been plastic and whack Ron brutally on the back numerous times while it was still in his oesophagus.

Currently, Ron was drifting off with eyes still open next to Kim. His head was tilted to one side as if ready to fall over into a sleep. Kim too, realised how tired she was and couldn't help but yawn again. Slipping her hand out from underneath the blanket, Kim turned the television off, placing the remote back onto the coffee table then laid down.

Seeing her do so, Ron did the same. Kim remembered when their hands had been attached, how they had slept one night on the chesterfield exactly how they were now; with Ron between her and the back of the sofa, Kim on the very edge and Rufus curled up on the pillow above their heads.

It was splendid to have Ron back with her again and _this_ time he would be staying the night with her. Kim snuggled closer to him now that the rest of the household had retired to their rooms for the night. Breathing deeply, she took in Ron's scent, filling her mind with a delirious comfort that she had not felt in a long, long time. Kim couldn't help but wonder if Ron was feeling the same way about her.

"Kim?"

"Ah, yes, Ron?" Kim asked leaning away from him and looked up at him.

"Um, sorry I was late coming over."

She laughed softly. "You already said that."

"I know," Ron replied. Kim's ears perked, picking up on the uneasiness in his voice. Was he about to drop some sort of bombshell about where he'd been earlier? Kim felt herself tense. "But I wanted to tell you where I was."

Here it came. Kim shut her eyes for a long moment, then opened them, staring back at Ron. Maybe he'd changed his mind about Tara. When she did open her eyes, she saw that he was curious and confused in her reaction.

"Well," he continued, "Not really tell you. More, like… well…"

"Spit it out, Ron." It was hard to keep the ice out of her voice.

"I…" Ron flustered, reaching down and fumbled with something. Kim looked down under the sheets to see what he was fumbling with, but couldn't see. "I wanna give you an early Christmas present," he said.

"Oh!" Kim blushed, clenching her hands right under her chin. "I guess that's where you were all this time, huh?"

"Unless you wanted, like, hospital mints or a toothbrush but…"

"Yea, no."

"Thought so," Ron grinned. "So I went out and bought you stuff. This one gift I want to give to you know, cos… we're um…"

"Alone?"

"Yea, that." There was something in Ron's hands underneath the covers which he now revealed.

In both his hands he held a small, dirty-white, rectangle cardboard box which he presented to her. Kim took the box from him and pulled off the lid, gasping under her breath as she beheld what at first appeared to be a bracelet. But when she looked closer, she realised that it was a lanyard made into a thin bracelet. The small, tight detail and all the many colours woven in so intricately were astonishing.

"Ohmigoodness," Kim breathed again as she pulled the bracelet out of its cushion of fluff within the box to examine it some more. "Ron… you… You made this for me! It must have taken you forever…" Looking at it more closely, Kim noticed a little charm hanging from it. It was a small, glittering charm in the shape of a heart but if Kim looked closer she saw the distinct image of continents on the heart: the world shaped like a heart.

"I wonder what this is supposed to mean?" she asked, a smirk crossing her face.

Ron immediately flushed, refusing to make eye contact her. "Oh, I didn't make that part," he said off-handed. "Y'know that metal-wielder we met in Russia months ago? While Wade contacted him for me and he had this mailed over. Making the bracelet was what really took me so long to get here. Oh, and I had to buy the materials at the mall, that too."

"Oh, Ron, this is just so… _so_ sweet of you," Kim replied softly, now clipping her custom made bracelet-lanyard onto her right slim wrist and twirled it around. "And so thoughtful, I'll wear it forever!"

Ron beamed, his white teeth flashing as he grinned. "That, like, totally means a lot. Really." He too looked down at the bracelet now attached to Kim; Kim could see the charm on the bracelet's glow reflect in Ron's softened brown eyes.

"And it means a lot that you made this especially for me," she replied firmly. "Thank-you." She placed the cover back on the box and, reaching over her head, placed it on the table behind her beside the telephone.

"Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah," she purred, slipping her arms around Ron's neck.

Ron churred with soft laughter, slipping his arms around her waist and drew her close. With the faint light of the Christmas tree lights casting their multicoloured glow on the two and the clock ticking well past midnight, Kim and Ron snuggled close, basking in the warmth and care that the other had to offer. Every time Kim was this close to Ron, she always felt the feeling that this was the best feeling she could ever feel. Ron was definitely the only person she wanted to cuddle close with on Christmas and her wish to have him for Christmas had been blessed into reality.

The events of the day taking their toll on her, Kim brought one arm back from around Ron's neck to place it gently on his chest. Dipping her head down, her eyelids becoming heavy, Kim could only stare, enraptured, at the bracelet Ron had gifted her with, a token of their new beginning.

_Yes,_ she thought dreamily, _a new beginning for the both of us. Just the two of us, like it always had been and always will be…_


	10. Undercover Secrets: Take II

Thanks to Reviewers: wiltedpetal, Visigoth, Rufus 986, evilreader, Rachel Lupin, Gryfffinrose, Ace Ian Combat, vanillalilies, Stoppable-san, strength-91-possibility, Deyinel, pheonia, The Infernal, Shadow Reaver, John, S. Snake, nessa92, Forlong, BrattyBrina, Camegaria, Masau, EXbok58a, TAZER ZERO, momike, ComputerSherpa, ZDafara470, thsunami, Dr Cube, Tragic Eyez, mattb3671, Kari, Ultimate Naco Topping, louise88, AndyCosta, JPMod, John Steppenwolf, Jawelik, conan, robin guerro, happyendingsmaybe Charlene & Loo (I'm done writing OWtD, let's have a Bet**t**a party WOOWOO2. And Then it appears it Will be my Duty to bring Over the Present of bloodworms from Far away if YOU bring the tank. Naturally.).

-Ron did wear his matching sweater, I guess I missed describing it, but he did.

-A. King (SE)

* * *

¤ Instalment 10 »» _Undercover Secrets: Take II_ ¤

Everyone is convinced

That the "thing" they're searching

For is in the future.

But how many people have realised

That "it" is actually in the past?

I can't even guess.

-Ayumi Hamasaki, '_Duty_'

* * *

Christmas passed by, as did the month of January and soon Kim and Ron were well into the month of February. Kim never removed her beloved lanyard bracelet that Ron had given her. For Kim, it represented their new beginning, and helped to remind her if she was being a little too harsh on Ron. Even on missions she wore it underneath her gloves, never once did the charm break no matter how fast were his fists or what they impacted into. Kim and Ron were now taking on missions regularly once again, yes, Ron included. Not only that, but Kim's winning streak continued.

The villains were shocked to see the both of them destroying their plans once again. It had been so long, one of them had even said (perhaps it was Killigan), that they were almost relieved to see her and the buffoon again. Certainly they preferred her to Global Justice and their men. Kim had no idea whether to be flattered or totally weirded out by the idea that she seemed to have some kind of relationship with the villains. Kim even remembered an uncomforting conversation:

"I thought you were taking months off!" Drakken had declared.

Kim had shrugged, "Well, I'm back now."

"Gee," Shego remarked slyly. "You must miss us pretty bad Kimmie if you're back so soon. Usually someone in your _position_ takes almost a year off."

"…" was Kim's reply.

"At least, that's what Global Justice mentioned to us about why you were taking months off…" Drakken shrugged.

Kim fell into such a furious blush. Boy, was she glad Ron was still being tied up, literally, in the next room, captured by Drakken's henchmen.

School was going pretty well too for the both of them. Of course, thanks to Kim, Ron was forced to review with her in the weeks before school had started again. He came over to her house regularly for cram time. After all, for people like Kim, it was time to start cramming for the final exams no matter how much Ron complained that they were months away.

At school for Ron, he had been welcomed back by friends like Felix, Zita, Monique and Prince Wally. Gil had greeted him too, greatly expressing his sorrow that Ron hadn't died.

Bonnie didn't seem very thrilled about Ron's return to the cheer squad. "Oh fabulous," she voiced venomously when he walked in the front doors for their first cheer practice on return from Winter break. "The loser's back and he doesn't even have the decency to return with the Regional trophy for the mascot division."

That was a low blow and Kim let Bonnie know it _extremely_ vocally. Ron never knew he'd be so pleased to hear Kim screaming at the top of her throat again.

And what of Tara, Kim wondered. She spotted the comely girl smile faintly to Ron and Ron returned the smile cheerfully. Kim couldn't help but watch the two like a hawk, but no matter how hard she scrutinised, she saw nothing to disbelieve that Ron and Tara were nothing but friends again.

Valentines Day even passed by, which was spent as a normal Valentines Day between Kim and Ron. Although Kim and Ron knew there was something more between them and they both acknowledged that the other _knew_ this, they still acted like they always had. They were best friends again, and yet somehow devoted to one another on a higher level. Kim wouldn't call the two of them as 'dating' because they weren't; they were still hanging with one another as always. It was as how she put it that time they had been on the sofa at the Annual Villain's Ball. Everything was the same, how it used to be, it was just something extra had grown there that they both desired.

Well, their Valentines Day wasn't all exactly like they always spent it in the previous years, but then it wasn't like the other couples and their mushiness at the High School. It was normal in the way they acted: went to Bueno Nacho and Ron tossed her some chocolates which he insisted she share with him. The only thing that made it different from the others was that they spent some close time with one another in the evening while after a mission in Italy and decided to take a gondola ride afterwards (Ron had fallen in the water at one point, not that Kim was too surprised).

But they hadn't kissed. In fact, they hadn't at all, not since Kim sprung one on him when he first awoke from his coma. Not even during the times that Ron spent the night at Kim's house did they kiss. She wasn't sure how Ron felt, but for Kim, there was never that right time. Or if there was, they kept missing it. She was fine with this more strongly-devoted attachment she had to Ron and didn't want to rush it, even if she did feel the desire from time to time. Well, when the time was right…

It was the next Thursday after Valentines Day and Kim and Ron were chilling at Bueno Nacho as usual when the Kimmunicator beeped from within Kim's backpack.

"Hey, Kim, busy?" Wade asked merrily.

Perhaps a little _too_ merrily. "What's the sitch, Wade?" Kim asked, unable to keep the agony out of her voice.

"Just another mission, if you're ready."

"Oh, sure, I'm game," Kim shrugged, smiling. She turned to Ron who smiled confusedly back. "Who, what, where?"

"Well…"

" 'Well'?"

"It's in India."

Kim frowned and laughed nervously, "What's the big, Wade? I've gone to India before. Why the hold-out on information? I'm ready for missions again."

"Yea, Wade, just spit it out," Ron grinned over Kim's shoulder.

"Okay, okay, _fine_. Monkey Fist knows he has Mystical Monkey Power left since he was able to use the Lotus Blade years back," (Wade inclined his head at Ron,) "Although his ability is not as strong as Ron's, he does know Tai Shing Pek Kwar which still makes him formidable, yet still lacking in that MMP area, right? So recently he discovered the location of a place to _heighten_ his ability," (Wade hit a button on his keyboard and a map showed up briefly of the location of this Power-heightening temple). "Monkey Fist needs to be stopped."

"… More monkey stuff, Wade?" Kim sighed reluctantly. "Please, I'm _still_ pulling out the fur in my mouth from my Adventure."

"What adventure?" Ron asked

Wade shrugged helplessly, "Don't shoot the messenger."

"I agree with Kim," Ron put in rather loudly. "I'm also a nay sayer on the monkey caper."

"So what's new for you," Kim replied dryly and heaved a sigh. For her, it really _was_ too early to begin thinking about taking on anything with fur again but when the world called… "Oh, the things I do for this planet," she grumbled, "Ok, shoot us the coordinates and hook us up with a ride."

"Traitor," Ron retorted under his breath, "I thought you finally came over to the _sane_ side."

Ignoring Ron, Wade confirmed to Kim that they'd be on their way to India in no time at all.

Well, 'no time at all' ended up translating as a layaway in Europe, engine trouble and no free roasted nuts on the airplane ride and that last downer had been Ron's breaking point. So naturally Ron was mighty happy to leave the bush plane, parachuting with Kim into the jungle undergrowth below. The clearing they landed in hadn't been very large, naturally the wind picked up _right_ when Ron was passing the trees after Kim and ending up tangling him in the tree branches. Kim had no choice but to climb/hustle the tree and yank Ron free. From there it was about an hour hike to the designated monkey temple.

_How many temples are there dedicated to monkeys?_ Ron thought darkly, his arms crossed grudgingly as he struggled to push his way through the thick ferns and bushes. _It's like these people are freakin' insane… Don't see why we couldn't have stayed home or whatever…_

"There," Ron heard Kim's voice announce to him a little ways ahead. When he approached her, she had pushed back a few of the rich, dark green ferns to one side to reveal the temple before them.

It wasn't as large as Ron had anticipated. _Hey, maybe it won't be that bad!_ It was smaller than the one in Cambodia that had contained the monkey idols where Ron had received his Mystical Monkey Powers. In fact, this one was really oddly shaped. Of course there were the smaller versions of the usual stone guardians on either side of the entrance intimidating Ron. This entrance almost appeared to be a back-door type entrance, but then the yellow-golden stone structure could only be two, maybe even one, storey high. It was also a little plain looking. It was by far no showy building to attract the pleasure of some monkey-god or whatever.

"Not very grandeur," Ron shrugged, placing his hands on his sides. Rufus nodded on Ron's shoulder before shuffling into Ron's pocket. Ron turned to Kim and couldn't help but notice how sweaty she was from the humid air through the jungle, she was panting heavily as if already exerted on energy.

_I'm so not fighting monkeys, so you better have the energy to do so_, he thought selfishly.

"Well, the less there is to search around for Monkey Fist," Kim replied, stepping forwards into the mini clearing. Like an invisible leash between the two, Ron had no choice but to follow.

"I say just let Monkey Fist keep this extra power," he mumbled under his breath, still holding himself and treading carefully. "So what? It's not gonna destroy the world or anything…"

"I thought you of all people wouldn't want Monkey Fist to have heightened power."

Ron shrugged, still catching up with Kim as she stood in front of the entrance waiting for him. "Hey, if it means avoiding monkeys, I'm ready for anything."

"If he succeeds," Kim replied acidly with raised eyebrows, "He'll be more powerful than you."

Ron stood next to Kim and shuffled his feet in annoyance. "Well… you could still take him on…"

"Yes, but _I_ don't have Mystical Monkey Power." Kim slid her backpack off and pulled out a flashlight.

Reluctantly, Ron pulled out one of his own from his pack while saying: "But you can do _anything_."

"Oh, so we're having a logic war, are we?" A smile spread on Kim's face and she flicked her flashlight on.

"Oh, stop it," Ron snorted, "Yes, yes, I know you're smarter than me and you'll win and-"

"Whoah, overdose on chill pills, will you, Ron?" Kim raised a palm in defence. "What's gotten into you lately? It's like you've become Mister Sour-Tude all of a sudden."

Ron's eyes darted away and he flicked on the light of his flashlight with a vengeance.

"Ron…" Kim said, lowering her voice into a soft comfort. She reached out and placed a hand on Ron's shoulder, he looked down at her hand, confused. "Look, I know you _really_ don't like monkeys. Like, I _really_ get that-" (Ron didn't know it, but Kim was recalling the sight of Bobo the Chimp from Ron's Camp Wannaweep memory. If that thing had _attacked_ him…) "-But no need to fear. We'll just be dealing with the monkey ninjas and the Fist. I can take on Monkey Fist if it makes you feel better and don't tell me you're scared of a bunch of silly little monkeys in bad Hallowe'en costumes."

Ron smiled faintly, "Thanks, KP. Fine, I'll deal." Kim was about to walk forwards when Ron hesitated and called after her, "And thanks for not teasing me like… like in the past."

Kim walked back and briefly touched her nose to his, "No big," and she turned back into the temple entrance. "But if I get captured…" she called out loudly.

"_Kim!_"

Ron scampered after her through the hallway. Keeping close behind, Ron scattered the light from his flashlight all over the hallways, discovering unwanted vines and _bugs_ collected on the walls of the hall.

"Kiiiiim," he whined. "There's bugs toooo," he hissed in a whisper.

"Just stick close," Kim's steady voice replied, "Hey, look, there's light ahead too."

"Already?" Ron brightened and craned his neck around Kim. "Torch lights," he said rather reluctantly. "Just torch lights. I thought you saw a light at the end of the hallway…"

"Pfft, already? What kind of temple would that be?" Kim shut her light off and slipped it back into her pack, Ron doing the same. "I guess we know for sure that Monkey Fist is here. I hope it means he's _still_ here."

"I don't."

Kim and Ron walked slowly and warily down the halls. Kim's eyes scanned the halls, left, right and down for any traps but so far there seemed to be none and it was putting her (and Ron who was very accustomed to traps in temples having set off a great many of them in the past) off guard.

"For a temple that's guarding some sort of power enhancing stuff, it's sure not doing much of the guarding," Ron spoke up what was on both of their minds. "Maybe he set them off for us."

"If he did, I think we'd be seeing a dead body," Kim replied dryly.

When they neared the torch light, they were now able to see the carvings and decorative engravings on the temple walls. But to both of their displeasure, neither of them were able to see much of an end to the hallway, they'd be walking on for sometime…

Eventually, time passed and now they could actually see the end of the hallway.

Ron was still tentatively following Kim, his sneakers padding softly on the orangey dirt masking the orange stones beneath his feet as they stalked through the ancient temple. Ron was becoming increasingly on edge, he _felt_ the Mystical Monkey Power inside of him alert, ready to overcome him in case he required its ability. He swallowed hard, his nostrils flaring as dirt kicked up from behind Kim and into his face. Ron blinked repeatedly looking around at the murals of monkeys carved into the stone wall and bit his lower lip.

"Can I go back and wait outside?" Ron hissed to Kim, scooting up to catch up to her. "I could, like, keep a look out and-"

"Hist, Ron!" Kim whispered back, "We have to keep quiet, we _do_ want the element of surprise, right?"

"I'd rather have the element of escape…"

Ron had the strangest notion that Kim was rolling her eyes in front of him.

He was about to rebuke, defiant, that he wanted no part in this monkey business (especially when he walked by a wall carving that depicted a rabid, knife-toothed monkey ripping the head off an unsuspecting tribal person) when he heard something.

No, not just a sound… a _tune_. It was so faint on Ron's ears, barely a whisper and even though it was only slight on his ears… the tune, no the _music_ enraptured him. He _needed_ to hear more, louder too. He sucked in his breath, quickening his footsteps without even realising it. So intent on the music that was flowing sweetly and enticingly that he clashed into Kim in front of him. He grew frustrated at her obscuring his path and tried to step around her, but Kim grabbed him and held him back.

"Ron!" she hissed, keeping her voice low. "Since when are you so eager?"

"The music," he said, looking over her shoulder as if the music drifting to him would form into a visible path. "W-we should follow it quicker."

Kim frowned for a moment, Ron found it irritating. Then she said the strangest thing: "Music?" she questioned, "What music? I don't hear anything."

He gave her a brief incredulous look. "What do you mean you don't hear it? Well, it's kinda low but," he gently placed a finger to her lips, "Shh, you'll hear it."

Kim's chest rose the instant Ron touched her lips and she held her breath; they were standing so close. Ron had not removed his finger and such silence between them… such silence all around them. To Kim, there was no music.

"It's getting louder…" Ron alerted abruptly.

"Louder?" Kim whispered back, barely moving her lips against Ron's gloved finger.

"No… wait…" suddenly a frantic look overcame Ron. "It's getting louder but-" Ron drew back from her, taking many steps back, almost tripping on the stone floor. Kim reached forwards, frightened for Ron, trying to grasp him.

"What are you talking about? There _is_ _no_ music!"

"It's getting louder!" Ron panicked, no longer speaking to Kim. His eyes were now wide and wild that he looked about himself, agonized, teeth gritted. "No!"

"Ron, what-"

Ron continued to rapidly stumble backwards. It looked like a moment ago he wanted to hear this melody that only he could hear. But now, it appeared that Ron was desperate to put as much distance between it and himself. Only Kim didn't know where the music was coming from, she couldn't hear it.

Abruptly, Ron blanched forwards, "AUGHH!" he cried, slapping his hands to his ears.

"RON!"

"_MAKE IT STOP!_" Ron tossed back his head wildly, throwing himself backwards, his feet stumbling about insanely. "_Please_, Kim!" he sobbed.

She was already at his side, placing a hand on his back. "Ron- _there is no music_!" She made an attempt to soothe him, reaching out for him but he wheeled away from her.

"There is, there is!" Ron shouted back although there was no need to shout for Kim. "Auughhh..." Ron dropped to his knees, pressing his hands fervently to his ears to block out this soundless music. "AAUGHH! It won't stop! It won't stop and it's getting louder and _LOUDER_ aah aahhhh, KIM!" Ron was sitting on his legs, bending his head forwards so it touched the ground, now clawing and scrabbling at his ears.

"Ron, I… I don't know what to do! I don't hear anything!" Kim called to him, panicked, she was raising her voice too even though there was nothing to shout over.

Music in Ron's head that only he could hear? _NOT good_, Kim thought grimly What if… what if this is some side effect from her having been in his mind? What if she left something behind? How could she help him then? No—how could she help him _now_!

"Ron… look, listen to my voice, ok? Listen to _me_."

There were tears of pain in his eyes, his teeth fiercely gritted. He shook his head from side to side, his palms tightly clamped to his ears. He'd flick his head abruptly, shake from side to side, toss it around… while he sobbed, muttered and moaned all in what seemed to be unbearable torture.

Kim was on her knees, rubbing Ron's back gently as her mind scrambled for someway to help him. Half of her was terrified for Ron and yet half of her, still unknown to the exact level of torture Ron was in, didn't seem to be as worried as she should have been.

Suddenly Ron threw his head back, his eyes no longer scrunched, but flown open as if insanity had overcome him and Kim recoiled in abhorred shock "Monkeys!" he screamed, "I… they're shouting above the music! I… too many sounds—too loud! AUGH, MAKE IT ALL _STOP_. _Kim_!" he pleaded and, oh, how it ached Kim's heart! "Kim, oh, Kim, make it _stop!_" He dropped to the floor on his back, his chest heaving intensely, his eyes almost glazing as they stared straight ahead making him look dead. "Stop… make it stop…" He reached forwards and clawed at Kim's pant leg for aid.

"Ron…" She bent over him, wrapping her arms around Ron's back in front of her. Now she was downright terrified. What could she do? she thought tersely. _Get it out!_ Her mind screamed, _I have to get him out of here!_ She went to gather him up in her arms when…

"Please…" Ron whispered, his fingers dug into Kim's pants and her skin, "Please… oh… I…"

And he passed out.

Shocked, Kim looked down at Ron and shook him. "Ron! Get up!" No… perhaps she better not. Sitting beside him, Kim hung back. This music that Ron claimed to hear had apparently been so loud that it caused him to pass out. If she woke him, would this music still be 'playing'? And he mentioned he heard monkeys, but still Kim heard nothing.

She lifted her head, looking down the dark temple hall. _What's going on?_ She thought frantically. Reaching in Ron's pockets, she checked Rufus. Where had he been during all this? When she pulled the little mole-rat out, Kim found him to also be unconscious. Had he heard the 'music' too? How could it be that she was the only one who couldn't hear it?

Kim bit her lower lip and decided to scoop Ron's light, limp body into her arms and carry him the rest of the way. There was no way she would leave him in the dark, foreboding hallway. What if he woke up and she wasn't there?

So Kim continued the rest of the journey to the end the hallways. Not once did Ron wake up, nor did he twitch or mumble. He appeared nothing but dead, hanging in her arms, his mouth slightly open. But she knew he wasn't for she had been sure to check his breathing and pulse.

Finally she reached the end of the hallway. It joined with another running horizontal to this one. Directly ahead of her was a pair of golden, tattered, moth eaten curtains leading to some unknown room. In fact, all along the horizontal hallway were rooms blocked by old curtains. Mentally shrugging to herself, Kim slid through the pair of curtains in front of her, hoping Monkey Fist wasn't on the other side.

He wasn't. Kim was shocked to find herself in a strange room full of soft (but old and dusty) pillows all of golden colours. There was a desk of some kind on one side and on the other was like some sort of bed made of pillows and cushions and everything plush. It wasn't exactly a bedroom, and not quite a sitting room, sarcastically thinking.

In any case, it was just what Kim needed and laid Ron down gently on a pile of the cushions; here would be a perfect place to leave him while she dealt with Monkey Fist. Then when she was done and the day was saved, she could return to him.

It was then Kim noticed another pair of curtains ahead of her. Curiously, Kim strutted forwards, gently pushing back the curtains to take a peek on what lay on the other side. She had _guessed_ another hallway, but no, it was a kind of Great Hall. Needless to say, her jaw dropped sufficiently. All along the sides of the walls were more curtain entrances to other rooms probably just like the one she was still in. But what was its purpose? She'd never seen rooms like these, let alone so many, in any other ancient temple she'd been in before.

The hall was made, like the hallways, of golden stone slabs, the walls surrounding were also carved decoratively. The temple was two floors after all; there was another floor above the Hall, a walkway curved around with even more curtain covered rooms.

But what ensnared Kim's interest was Monkey Fist. He was sitting at the end of the Hall on a cushion in a meditation position with his eyes closed, his monkey ninjas surrounding him. He, and his monkey ninjas that Kim now detested, swayed steadily from one side to the other as if…

_As if there was music playing…_But still Kim heard absolutely _nothing_.

Then Kim noticed an alter. Behind the alter was an old, slightly torn tapestry depicting a warrior doing exactly what Monkey Fist was doing: meditating. On the image, the warrior was glowing and women were worshipping him and to one side was a harp.

The exact same harp that was on the stone alter behind Monkey Fist. But that wasn't the weird part yet. The _really_ weird part was that the strings to the harp were playing on their _own_… and _still_ no music or noise of any kind! There really had been some music as Ron had said… but why couldn't Kim hear it? And why wasn't Monkey Fist rolling on the floor in inscrutable pain?

Pulling back, Kim sat herself on a pile of cushions next to Ron who was still unconscious and pulled out the Kimmunicator from her pocket, time for some one on one with Wade.

"Okay, Wade, here's the sitch…" She began to inform; she told him how she and Ron had been walking down the hallways only to have Ron breakdown claiming he could hear some sort of loud music that hadn't, to Kim, existed. He had also claimed he heard monkeys shrilling and she described, with much emotional difficulty, the pain Ron had been in. Then she peeked the Kimmunicator out into the Great Hall so Wade could glimpse Monkey Fist's mediation.

"So what's going on? Ever since Ron got this Monkey Power stuff, I _really_ feel like I'm missing out here."

"I have no clue… at the moment," Wade furious typed at his keyboard. "Lemme see… yes… there is something in the air…"

"I hope you mean _besides_ the bugs," Kim retorted as she swatted away what she hoped wasn't a mosquito.

"That harp I saw… it really is playing some song, but it's on a much higher frequency, one that-"

"Only monkeys can hear?"

"Yea!"

"So that explains what Ron was talking about and why Monkey Fist is swaying about like a drunkard. Okay, but that doesn't explain why Ron and Rufus passed out and why Monkey Fist and his monkeys have not. Ron said the music had been really loud."

"Don't know yet but I'm going to take a guess and say that it's the harp that's enhancing his monkey powers."

"It should be fairly easy to take out," Kim shrugged. "I'll be back in a blink," she nodded and pocketed the Kimmunicator. She gave Ron one last sympathetic look before she ran out of the room, the curtains furrowing and blowing up dust behind her.

She halted in the middle of the Hall, eyeing her opponents ahead of her. No-one seemed to have taken any notice of her entrance, all were still deeply intone to the tune. _This might even be easier than I guessed and I had thought this to be a walk in the park!_

Yet to be on the cautious side, Kim still crept up to the alter, bypassing the monkey ninjas with uncontrolled shivers and a pulled back lip. Even when she was beside Monkey Fist and in front of the ninjas neither opened their eyes to notice her. But they surely would once she stopped the harp's music. She had thought about destroying it, but it was old… she could bring it to a museum…

_Better just get away with this thing and thwart the bad guy._

Reaching forwards, Kim took hold of the harp and attempted to pull it from its place only to realise that the harp was _apart_ of the alter.

"Now this is going to be a little different," she muttered.

Kim continued to stand there, observing the harp. The strings were actually vibrating in patterns speedily as if an invisible professional harp-player was weaving song to strings to create invisible music. She _could_ just pluck the strings, there was always that option, but she wasn't sure if it was quite the right thing to do. After all, the harp was probably some priceless artefact of some kind. She didn't want to be the one to blame when the museums found it.

With an idea coming to her, Kim reached into one of her small belt pockets and pulled out her laser. Hoping it would cut through the rock, Kim knelt down so she was at eye level with the base of the harp. Turning on her laser, Kim pointed it at the rock and smiled slowly when it began to cut through the rock.

Unfortunately, it would take awhile. The incision the laser made into the rock wasn't very deep so it would still take sometime, much like sawing down a tree. Kim only hoped she had that long of a time to spend on it. She had no clue when the harp would stop playing its music.

A few minutes had passed and Kim was still no-where's near done separating the harp from the base. It was quite boring and tedious work; she couldn't help but sigh and shuffle around on her knees before one of her legs fell asleep. Often, Kim would also cast a look over her shoulder at Monkey Fist and the monkey ninjas. They were still entranced by the music.

Only to Kim was the room completely silent, but then Kim had been able to hear a slight moaning sound coming from one of the curtained rooms (she could easily guess which one). In consternation, Kim whipped her head around to face the curtained room. Of course, instinct had alarumed inside of her that Ron was in trouble, but then her mind eased her into an educated guess that he was fine and maybe close to waking. Yet sadly, as she had whipped around, so did her hand, and the laser… and the laser's beam… which struck Monkey Fist directly in the chest.

An ear-splitting shriek came from Monkey Fist and his monkey ninjas began to chatter themselves out of the revere at their master's call.

"What in—Who did—" And Monkey Fist twirled around to face Kim; his eyes instantly narrowed. "The cheerleader!" he hissed and his monkey ninjas gathered closer to him, their tails lashing, provoked. "How did you find me here! What have you done to the harp!"

Inwardly, Kim sighed, now she'd have to face the villains, just great. "Gee, why do _you_ think I've flown thousands of miles from America to be here in the same room with you? No wait, that didn't come out how I wanted…"

"No matter, I will dispose of you for your interference… and for the damage you caused me a few months ago!"

"Oh, pfft, that amulet thing is _so_ old, seriously."

"And yet it still wounds my pride—MONKEY NINJAS ATTACK!"

"_This_ is just going to be so much fun," Kim rolled her eyes and flipped backwards, off of the wall, then over the monkey ninjas and stood in a fighting stance ready to do battle. The seven monkey ninjas launched themselves at Kim and Kim, almost automatically, fought them back. A punch here, a kick there and one or two blocks over there…

_Why is Ron always impeded when we're fighting the monkeys? This _is _supposed to be his deal, here, geesh._

"Augh," she grunted when the battle began to intensify, it was a bit difficult fighting so many monkey ninjas at once. If Kim looked over the monkeys, she could see Monkey Fist looming over the harp, probably playing it again to enhance more of his Mystical Monkey Power.

_Not gonna let that happen_, Kim grunted. She had to get away from this fight with the monkey ninjas, they were merely a distraction.

Gritting her teeth and blowing away the flying fur from her mouth, Kim tried to punch and block while pulling out her ever handy grappling hook. The monkey ninjas saw her holding her weapon and shrilled and shrieked even louder in fury.

Lashing out with her leg, Kim took aim with her grappling hook and it whizzed through the air, wrapping around one of the pillars on the second story. Taking a leap, Kim bounced once or twice, trying to avoid any clinging monkeys (by no means was she intent on starting _another_ monkey ball) before flying through the air on her grappling hook and landing on the railing of the second floor.

Crouching low, Kim surveyed the below hall. The monkey ninjas were right below her, hoping up and down, slapping their palms on the ground as if demanding her to come down. Monkey Fist was back in a trance, one monkey with him as a guard and if Kim squinted, Kim could see the strings of the harp vibrating.

_beep beep beep-beep!_

"Wade! Kinda need a little—"

"I've figured it out!" Wade interrupted. "I think I know what's happened to Ron after restudying the waves I picked up from the harp." This wasn't really ASAP info for Kim, but then, she was alright for awhile up here for the time being. Unfortunately, when Kim had been reaching into her pocket for the Kimmunicator, she missed the two monkey ninjas that had run out of the Hall.

"Monkey Fist doesn't have full MMP," Wade continued. "This invisible tune enhances that power so while it's raising Monkey Fist's, the volume of the harp is just fine for him. But for someone who _has_ full Monkey Power, after awhile of listening, this tune's volume is probably going to go way off the charts!"

Kim grimaced, "Then we better shut it off _now_ while Ron's still unconscious! I heard him moaning awhile back, he might be waking up soon. What can I do, Wade?"

"I don't know," Wade shrugged. "I only said I knew what was going on."

"Tchach, _Wade!_ Monkey Fist's power is enhancing every second we waste and Ron may be close to waking and when he does, it's going to be like standing in front of the speakers at an O Boyz concert twenty times over!"

"Pick it up and run away with it?" Wade suggested.

"Well, I would if I could," Kim mocked back, becoming irritable. "But it's ever so conveniently attached to the alter!"

"Ohhh, I see," Wade sucked on his lips. "Did you try using your laser to—"

"Was kind of in the middle of that when Monkey Fist woke up."

"Well, you could—"

"Aaah!" Kim screamed when out of no-where, or, from behind her, to be more accurate, two monkey ninjas flung themselves at Kim.

"Kim!" Wade called, but Kim had dropped the Kimmunicator in her shock as she became unbalanced on the railing. As she lost her balance, Kim began to fall off the railing. To prevent herself from splatting, Kim fired her grappling hook, aiming it for _anywhere_ but then the second monkey ninja flew at that very arm and her aim misfired. Instead, the grappling hook flew right into the strings of the harp.

If Kim had seen and been able to think, she would have probably remarked on the irony. Instead, she was still falling and had nothing to brace her fall. With just enough air space left, Kim dropped her grapping hook, stretched out her hands and slapped the hard stone ground, pushing off it, rolling into a ball, then bounding two more steps before landing on her two feet, her hands in the air.

"Just like in cheer practice when Bonnie's at the bottom of the pyramid and she runs to answer her cell!" she exclaimed joyously at herself.

But the chatter of monkeys soon caught her attention again. Actually, to be more specific, it was Monkey Fist, who was currently in the middle of screaming at Kim, (something about breaking the oh-so-magical-monkey-powered-one-and-only-harp, or something like that).

"Oh, sorry," Kim turned around and pointed at herself. "Were you talking to me?"

One of Monkey Fist's eyes was as wide and round as one of Killigan's golf balls while the other was twitching perpetually. "YOU BROKE THE HARP! YOU RUINED MY ONE AND ONLY CHANCE TO REGAIN FULL MYSTICAL MONKEY POWER!"

"Yea, okay, just making sure you really were talking to me and not just talking to air… as usual," she couldn't help but add with a smirk.

Monkey Fist snorted and gurgled for a few moments while goggling at Kim. She waited for his next move since the monkey ninjas around him weren't doing anything particularly threatening to Kim's well-being.

"Monkey ninjas!" Monkey Fist screamed, thrusting a fist in the air. "There's nothing for us here, we leave now!"

Stepping aside just in time, the flurry of monkeys fled past her towards the main entrance. As Monkey Fist hobbled by on all fours, he stopped at the entrance and threw something at Kim. Kim hadn't been expecting it and could only flinch as it burst all around her into a thickening cloud of smoke.

Kim coughed and blew the smoke away with her hand as it began to fade away. "Oh, c'mon, that was _so_ uncalled for! IT'S NOT LIKE I'M GOING TO FOLLOW YOU!" she cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted after Monkey Fist. "Pfft, yea right," and for extra emphasis, she kicked a stray pebble. Walking back over to her fallen grappling hook and Kimmunicator, Kim stored them in her backpack.

_And I thought Ron was supposed to be the one with the dumb luck._

Then, as if on cue, a voice began to moan again snagging Kim's attention; immediately Kim fled to Ron.

Pushing back the dusty curtain and coughing a bit more, Kim dropped onto her knees next to Ron lying on the pillowed bed on the floor.

"Ron?" Kim called softly.

He didn't respond.

Kim slid her backpack off her shoulders and reached into one of the side pockets and pulled out her water bottle. She slipped one of her gloves off and poured some water onto her hand then ran her wet hand across Ron's forehead.

This time he moaned again, laid his head back and shivered.

"Ron, it's okay now; there's no more music."

"Music…" Ron murmured.

"It's gone."

"Gone…"

"All gone."

"All gone…"

Ron's eyes slowly blinked open, he looked _very_ drugged. His voice slurred slightly as he said: "S'all gone… Kim?"

"That's me," Kim replied softly. She sat next to him, leaning over so he could see her without turning his head.

"The music… it…" He leaned his head back during his pause then looked back at Kim. "It's gone… Kim…"

Kim decided to give Ron time to recover. He continued to murmur babbles some more then finally he stopped a little abruptly and stared right into Kim's eyes, his own still rather heavy.

"You…"

Kim tilted her head waiting for him to continue.

"Uhh," he said instead and began to squirm around to sit himself up. Kim helped, pushing him up and holding onto him once he was up in case he should fall back again.

"We can go back to Middleton anytime you're ready," she said gently.

"Thanks, KP. I'm still just… just a bit…"

"Don't worry, take your time."

Eyes still half open, Ron looked around at his surroundings then suddenly lost his balance again and slid halfway off of the pillow-bed. Kim, being beside him, embraced him as he fell into her. She blushed as he slid down, his head resting on her chest. She looked down at him, clutching to her shoulders and saw his face flushed with illness.

"I," she stammered, still blushing at where Ron had fallen. "I think I better take you home now. I'll take you home so you can sleep and rest. We have school to-morrow, you need to be ready… for… that…" Ron had closed his eyes, his mouth open slightly as he breathed. Was he asleep?

With one arm around his waist, she patted his hair a few times with the other; Kim was still unable to cease her blushing. Finally, when it seemed like Ron really had fallen asleep. Kim slipped her arm underneath his knees, the other under his back and picked him up. But right as she tried to stand, Ron had a spasm.

Flipping wildly in her hold, Kim let out a startled remark as she fell back down, Ron on top of her. In fact, he stood on all fours over her, breathing as if he'd just run eight hundred kilometres. He wasn't even really looking at her, and yet… was he? His eyes… they didn't look the same; Kim couldn't help but lay there underneath him, rigid even though she could easily toss him off.

After a few more huffs and puffs, Ron double blinked and looked normal again. "Kim!" he started, pulling off of her and grabbed her wrist to pull her up. "I'm sorry, I don't know…"

"It's okay, Ron," Kim nodded, padding her pants with a hand. "I think we'd just better head home now. I still have some homework anyway, didn't finish it all on the plane ride over here."

"Yea, me too…"

"Um… Ron?"

His gaze was elsewhere.

"Ron?"

"Huh, what?"

"You can, uh, let go of me now."

Recoiling, Ron looked down at his hand around Kim's wrist.

"Right," he mumbled. "Sorry."

He didn't let go.

Kim's eyes darted to him, to her wrist, then back again a number of times. The whole time, Ron was staring at his hand wrapped around her wrist _very_ intently. Did she even feel a slight tug of her wrist towards him? Maybe her imagination.

Breaking the moment, Kim laughed nervously, trying to snag Ron's attention. "Ok, what? Are we, like, stuck again or something?"

"Huh?" He still didn't look at her. "No…"

"Ron?" she said a little more sternly.

This seemed to awaken him and he pulled back, letting go of her wrist then looked into her eyes as he said: "Sorry."

"Hey, no big," Kim said with a sigh. "Let's just leave this… this…" Kim looked around at the pillowed room, "Place… and go home!"

"Sounds gravy to me."

But Kim didn't miss the spaced-out tone in his voice. Hopefully a good night's sleep would restore his mind.

-ø-

Or maybe a good night's sleep would only make things worse, or so Kim was now beginning to second guess herself. Last night, she had dropped Ron off at his house first and it had been clear to Kim he hadn't wanted to leave her. She had thought they sorted through all those insecurities around Christmas, perhaps he was having a relapse after that invisible tune escapade. Even though she had reassured him she would be waiting for him at her house the next morning for school, this didn't seem to reassure him in the slightest; it was if that wasn't even his worry but rather something else. But in any case, he eventually let her ago and arrived earlier than usual to walk with her to school.

It was from then Kim began to notice the differences.

Sure, his attitude was less clingy, in fact, he was almost a bit more… distant with her. But that wasn't all Kim had noticed. Well, to put it simply:

"You're acting a bit _weird_," Kim replied, crossing her arms.

Ron double blinked looking baffled. "What do you mean 'weird'. Coming from you, that's a normal, every-day comment."

It was near the end of Lunch time, and Kim and Ron were at their lockers pulling after-Lunch textbooks out of their lockers and stuffing them into their backpacks. Kim hadn't said anything all day to Ron about his behaviour, hoping maybe it would cool off after Lunch, but how wrong had she been. (They had actually been asked to leave the cafeteria by the lunch ladies for Ron's… antics.)

"I mean, like," Kim waved a hand in the air as she struggled to form her observations into words that actually made sense. "You're, like, bouncing around, right and left. I mean-"

"You bounce," Ron retorted.

"Yes, but I'm a _cheerleader_ _AND-_" she interrupted as Ron was just about to open his mouth. "I don't bounce across the lockers, swing into doorways and bound up and down the stairs in a zigzag when I'm going to and from class."

Kim noticed Ron puff himself up as he breathed in looking increasingly frustrated.

"So what's going on?" she persisted. "It's like…" then the comparison hit her. "Like you're acting like a monkey all the time!"

Ron's eyes lit up and they darted back at Kim. "Oh, c'mon," he muttered while shuffling around in his locker, "It's not that noticeable."

"It is when you bounce on the students' heads to your seat!"

"I'm just feeling energetic, that's all!" he retorted, slamming his locker shut and slinging his bag ruefully over his shoulder.

"I don't think so. Just, pull back on the Ronerobics, okay? It's getting a little on the embarrassing side."

"I don't do it on purpose…" Ron muttered, but Kim didn't catch that.

Before Kim could say more, however, the bell signalling end of lunch sounded out above their heads.

"Time for class," Ron stated. "I'll catch up, I, er…"

"Oh, no," Kim replied loftily, grabbing Ron's arm. "You can't tell me you forgot any textbooks _this_ time seeing as you're right beside your locker. Got everything?"

"Um, well, yea, but-"

"Then let's _walk_ to class. Extra emphasis on the word 'walk'."

Ron only sighed. He was forced to walk to class, Kim keeping her hand wrapped tightly around his wrist despite the increasing burning sensation boiling inside of him to bounce around. His eyes couldn't help but wander over to the walls or the hanging lights from the walls, they just screamed at him to use them to bounce or swing off of.

The main reason he had avoided Kim's inquiries because he wasn't _sure _why he had this intense feeling inside. It was like it was instinct and he just did it now without thinking.

Well, that wasn't all true. Ron was pretty sure he knew what was _causing_ the instinct; it was his Mystical Monkey Power, of course. It wasn't _that_ hard to deduce. But as to _why_ it was kicking up this strongly when he wasn't even squaring off any monkeys was a mystery even to him. If it kicked in when he wasn't battling the fur, it usually became active in at random slightly in the Spring. He had noticed this ever since he had been blasted with the power years ago. But it was never active to such a degree as now that people actually started to take notice!

All he could hope to do was wait for the power inside him to die down and stop being so antsy since he had no control over it. He never even noticed he was using his powers until Kim pointedly noticed them vocally.

And the scary thing was, Ron sucked in his breath as he looked down at Kim's slim hand wrapped around his wrist as she proceeded to tug him up the stairs to Chemistry class, was that it wasn't just the inclination to use his Mystical Monkey Ability that was coming in Spring overdrive either. He shuddered involuntarily and twitched his head in a very monkey-like way.

"Now this time can you _please_ glue yourself to your seat?" Kim asked as they entered the Chemistry classroom where she finally released his wrist.

Ron ambled over to his stool that he normally sat at with Kim. "I'll try."

Kim shot him a half aggravated, half pleading look as she sat herself down beside him, bringing out her binder from her bag. While watching her do this, his eyes couldn't help but wander to her bare waist as she twisted her body to place her bag on the floor beside her stool. Ron furiously pointed his gaze at the blackboard, forcing his mind to occupy itself.

_Sure, I'll try_, he thought grimly as the final bell rang.

And try he did. For a full hour Ron sat with much difficulty in his seat taking notes from the overhead projector. Like the other classes, he struggled to contain the boundless energy inside causing him to twitch, shuffle, scuffle and rearrange himself in his seat. Kim kept shooting him looks from her notes, even nudging him softly with her elbow to try and pacify him.

Ron bit his lip while twirling his pen between his pointer and middle finger, unable to write anything down. His brain was positively in a twitch overdrive. The littlest of things caught his attention. Like a barely visible fruit fly flying overhead. He watched it fly lazily around the room, his feet shuffling underneath him as he played with his pen half-mindedly.

He was only brought back down to Earth when he felt a pen jab into his arm. Without even thinking, instinct took hold and his Monkey Power reacted by nearly biting Kim's nose clean off.

She sat there with her eyes wide-open as Ron sat in front of her, his eyes now elsewhere looking fairly agitated and not at all very Ron-like. The fact that they were in the middle of class, was the only thing keeping her back from shouting out reprimands.

No-one else in the classroom seemed to notice Ron's violent reaction so Kim leaned towards Ron and hissed under her breath. "_Hold still_. Just…" Ron still appeared not to be listening to her. He was idly playing with his pens again, turned away from her.

"Just try to act normal, will you?" she whispered in conclusion, turning back to her note-taking (which she was now behind in).

Kim continued to finish taking her notes then proceed to work on the exercises all while minding Ron like a two year-old. She knew he had a little attention-span but this was over the borderline. Of course, he did not finish taking his notes nor worked on the exercises. She decided to leave him as she was in favour of keeping her nose on her face; at least he wasn't leaping off the walls; that was always a bonus.

When class ended, the ringing of the bell overheard seemed to bring back Ron's _real_ mind and he packed up his bag. Kim watched him stealthily. When they were outside the classroom, Ron had walked speedily ahead, going down the stairs to the gymnasium. Kim pushed her way through the students to catch up for a much-needed _tête-à-tête _with him. And just like in the classroom, when Kim made a move towards him, this time clamping her hand on his shoulder, Ron whipped around with speed Kim forgot he could have and struck her with a flat hand to her bare stomach.

The blow wasn't as hard as he could have dealt, but it was still painful. Letting out a gasp, Kim blanched forwards, clasping her stomach with wide eyes as the wind had been knocked out of her.

"Kim, I…" Ron suddenly spluttered when he realised what he had done. Immediately, Ron rushed to her side as she sank to her knees letting out a quiet groan. Purely distressed, Ron knelt in front of Kim, hands on her shoulders, trying to meet her in the eyes that she hung low.

"Hey!" Someone shouted from the crowd, "That guy whose name I forget just hit Kim Possible!"

"Dude!"

"The hell, no kidding!"

And before Ron knew it, a rough hand grabbed him by the shoulder, stood him to his feet and even before the Mystical Monkey Power forced itself into first gear again, a large, burly jock slammed a fist right into Ron's face.

"No!" Kim somehow managed to gasp airily, a hand still clutching her stomach, the other reaching out for Ron. By now she had three girls and two guys at her side around her trying to console her.

Kim gritted her teeth, unable to stand since Ron had truly knocked the wind out of her. And just as she feared, the power that was causing Ron to become over agitated, quick-tempered and dangerous kicked in despite his newly bloody nose and mouth, and he literally flung himself from the lockers he had landed into, thrusting himself at the jock who had hit him.

Kim had only heard that yowling sound once before when Ron had valiantly attacked the lead gang member that had been intent on taking them by force.

"_No_…" Kim gasped again, she struggled to crawl forwards, but it was hopeless, especially since she was surrounded by students wanting to help her.

"Get this thing offa me!" the jock cried out. Kim, on the floor, was barely able to see the jock fling past with Ron furiously clawing, scratching, biting, hissing, spitting and tearing up the jock, clinging to his face.

"Blood! He's drawing blood! Someone get him _OFF OF ME!_"

Growling to herself and sucking in her pain, Kim threw herself up and out through the concerned wave of students and through the shuffle. Breaking past she saw another throng around the jock she recognised from the football team and Ron. The jock was blindly reaching out, trying to grasp Ron and throw him off of him but Ron was attacking his face wildly so that the jock wasn't able to see his attacker to defend himself.

"Ron!" Kim finally managed to scream over all the noise. Some other jocks were standing around their attacked buddy, dubiously eyeing Ron. "_STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!_" she hollered at him. No reaction.

"_RIGHT **NOW**!" _she screamed this at the top of her lungs despite the withdrawal from having the wind knocked from her while stamping her foot.

This seemed to attain Ron's attention. Just when Ron ceased his attacks for a split second to flinch his head to the source of the sound, the jock plucked Ron's skinny self off of him and threw him once again into a set of lockers.

Ron impacted hard and Kim couldn't help but flashback to the girl's room at Upperton High. But as soon as she saw Ron was unharmed, Kim flew at Ron right before he could leap at the jock again for _daring_ to chuck him into the lockers. Kim wrapped her arms tightly around Ron's waist, pulling him down to the ground where she sat.

He wiggled and squirmed furiously in her arms to free himself from her grasp (at least he wasn't turning his attacks on her!) all while Kim struggled not only to hold him back and down, but to stroke his head and whisper pacifying words into his ear.

"Sshhhh," she whispered, hoping it would quiet him.

It appeared to be working. He wriggled less but his eyes were still possessed and warily watching the jock he had attacked.

"That little freak!" the jock shrilled as he felt his face, tears of pain springing up in his eyes. "I'm gonna come over to spill his _BRAIN_!"

"Don't you _dare!_" Kim yelled back on the floor as the jock raised a fist to slam into Ron. Ron wriggled more but was unable to free himself so he hissed madly as the jock enclosed on the pair of them.

Kim could easily take the jock on, but she couldn't protect Ron and keep him down at the same time. Instinctively, she flinched, shutting her eyes and turning her head away as the fist flew through the air directed at Ron.

She felt Ron underneath spasm violently so she wrapped her arms even tighter and then—

"What the—WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE!"

Kim never recalled in her entire _life_ being so glad to hear Mister Barkin's commanding and overbearing voice.

"Uh, Mr Barkin!" The jock replied, pulling back and away from Ron. "He attacked me! And, and he attacked her too!"

Kim opened her eyes, now looking upon the formidable, looming form of Mr Barkin in his usual brown suit. Mr Barkin's eyes were squinted as he glared down at Kim and Ron both, surveying the two of them. Kim knew she ought to speak up, especially in Ron's defence, but what words she had been able to speak a short while ago seemed to have depleted her resources.

"He did that to you?" Barkin asked.

Kim could know really see the damage Ron had done to the jock and was shocked that he wasn't howling in pain. But through the silence and the noise of Ron gently hissing underneath Kim, she could hear the jock's sharp intakes of air and the winces of pain on his expression.

"Go to the nurse and she'll clean you up," Mr Barkin rumbled quietly.

"But what about-"

"_I'LL_ deal with Miss Possible and…" his critical eyes wandered onto Ron, "Her wild pet."

Ron hissed louder now glaring at Barkin and wiggled slightly. Kim embraced Ron and leaned forwards from behind Ron, whispering more comforting words while stroking his head gently. Again, it worked.

"The rest of you!" Mr Barkin shouted to the gathered crowd. "Off to your classes! Didn't you hear the bell go off? That'll be one detention strike for all of you!"

The entire crowd groaned and departed mumbling dislikes towards Barkin and things like: 'this is what I get for trying to help…'. The entire crowd departed and the only people left were Barkin, Kim and Ron.

Looking up and Barkin now leering over the both of them, Kim couldn't help but hug Ron closer to her, this time to comfort herself more than Ron. Ron himself wasn't looking at Barkin, but rather at the floor, twitching his head from time to time.

"Now what went on here, Possible! Why am I having to fill out more student health forms, and why is Stoppable acting like a wild animal!" He again looked down at Ron still wiggling with discomfort and irritation at still being in Kim's hold.

Kim opened her mouth, now feeling as if she was finally able to speak only to realise she had no clue what to say on the matter.

"I…" she started. "Mr Barkin, please," (Ron twisted angrily in her hold), "He's not himself. He…"

"I can _SEE_ that…" Mr Barkin replied loftily, his massive hands now held behind his back. "Explain the situation! I was told he _attacked_ you as well?"

"Yes, well, no, I mean…" Kim gasped, grappling for a suitable answer to tell the truth and protect Ron from receiving a suspension. "It was an accident," she conceded. "He didn't mean to, but that guy thought it was on purpose so he hit Ron and then Ron, um…"

"Attacked back, yes," Mr Barkin drawled, eyeing Ron again.

"Mr Barkin, please don't-"

"Stoppable, what do you have to say in your defence?"

Nothing. Ron said nothing.

This seemed to infuriate Mr Barkin further and Kim was only glad Ron was not taking notice of Barkin otherwise he might be keen on leaping at Barkin too.

"Stoppable is suspended for the rest of the day, which unfortunately isn't much. He can come back on Monday, followed by detentions. The weekend should give him time to sort out his…" Mr Barkin arched an eyebrow at Ron, "Issues."

"Y-yes, Mr Barkin," Kim stammered, holding Ron closer as Barkin shot her another glare before strolling away. Once he was gone, she sighed. _Could have been worse…_

Ron had stopped wriggling in her arms so she took a gander at his current state. Leaning forwards as much as possible, Kim tried to take a look at his face. At least he was calm.

"Ron?"

A light murmur: "Kim…"

"Ron! You back to Planet Normal now?"

"I…" He wiggled again but this time he was doing so purposefully, not wild and struggling like before so she let him go and she stood up very much like his normal self again. "I'm sorry, KP. A-are you alright?" He lent her a hand to help her up.

"Me!" Kim gave a laughing scoff. "I think you should be more concerned about that jock you mugged. You're gonna be lucky if he doesn't sue you or something."

"But you're okay?" Ron persisted.

Kim looked up from dusting herself up and pushed back her now unkempt hair. "Pretty much," she replied, "That was a pretty hard blow you dealt me, Ron. But I'm good. We better get you off the school property before Barkin comes back."

"I'm sorry."

"I…" Kim looked into his eyes awkwardly. He looked hurt and very concerned, it unsettled her slightly. "We'll talk about it later. Let's grab our stuff first."

Ron followed Kim slowly down the stairs and through the empty hallways. They said little to one another as they cleaned out their lockers for their textbooks and binders they'd need over the weekend. When all was laid to burden in their backpacks, Kim led the way through the school's front doors and off the property.

Kim knew _she_ hadn't been suspended and it was only Ron who was supposed to leave, but she didn't want to leave him alone. Especially in the unstable state he was in. She was worried about opening the newspaper and finding Ron had mauled someone to death. Kim wondered if he would have done just that to the jock if she hadn't had interfered. She eyed him now as he walked in step with her, his head hung low.

She thought they might head to Bueno Nacho but in passing Middleton's public park which was close to the school, Ron detoured towards a tree on a small hill overlooking the playground. Ron slipped his backpack off of his back and dropped to the ground on his stomach. Kim stripped herself of her own pack and sat next to him, leaning back on her hands to survey the playground. There were a few parents watching their children as they played on the equipment.

"So you wanna tell me now what happened exactly?" Kim prodded conversationally.

"I dunno."

"Tchach, I think you do," Kim replied, arching her eyebrows at him. "If you don't tell me, I can always take it to Doctor Wade."

"Ha," Ron laughed dryly, "For a moment there I thought you were going to say 'Dr Drakken'."

"I could, if you'd like," Kim retorted.

"No thanks," Ron snorted, burying his face in his crossed arms.

"Then spill. What went on back there? I mean, I had to wrestle you down from clearing that jock's face right off his head! You weren't… Well, Barkin put it best when he said you were acting like a wild animal."

"Mmm," was all Ron replied.

Kim snorted, looking at him from the corner of her eyes. "Are you going to answer me or what?"

No response from Ron.

Kim tsked and rolled her eyes. Giving Ron some time (hopefully he wasn't just daydreaming but maybe thinking about what he had just done back at the school), Kim pulled out her homework and worked on that.

Now that it was February, there was no more snow on the ground and Kim was thankful it wasn't a rainy day like it had been mostly that month. In fact, as Kim peered through the above leaves on the tree, it was rather sunny. It was early in Spring and to Kim that would mean final exams. Not only just final exams, but considering Universities too…

Kim was only snapped out of her homework trance when something from the corner of her eye caught her attention. Covering a yawn and shivering slightly, Kim turned her head to see a red, rubber ball bounce up to her, resting between her and where Ron still lay.

Curious, Kim looked out and saw a little child running up the hill to fetch the ball and Kim smiled faintly. Running up the hill, the child was approaching his ball, nearly in his hands when a soft growl emitted from Ron's throat.

Both the child and Kim's eyes shot open although the child looked far more frightened than Kim.

The growling grew louder and slowly, Ron began to shift his shoulder blades. The child looked like he was about to cry and remembering what had just happened at the school, Kim grabbed his ball and handed to him, giving him a small prod to hurry back to the hill.

Ron was sitting now, his hands in front of him, positioned much like an animal with his head hung low. Although his growling ceased, he looked rather irritated.

"What is up with you!" Kim finally burst and, it might not have been the smartest of moves, but she buffeted Ron over the head with her hand. "_Snap out of it_!"

Ron let out a startled, angered snort and whipped his head at her. But as soon as his eyes landed on her, they softened and he looked like himself again.

"Would you have seriously attacked that little kid like you did that jock?" Kim burst, her hands on her hips. "What, do I have to lock you up in your room until you get these issues sorted out? Now are you going to tell me or what!"

"I think I'm going to go home," Ron replied softly.

"And I'd better walk you!" she retorted. "What if you randomly throw yourself at some poor passer by, huh? How can I be sure that won't happen?"

"Just… leave me alone," and he sat himself up, picking up his backpack.

"Oh-no!" Kim growled, stuffing her books back into her bag. "Don't you dare go all emo on me, Ron!"

But Ron was already headed back down the hill. Kim was left standing with her jaw down. _What_ was going on with him!

-ø-

Kim was still asking herself that question as she sorted through the clothes on her floor around her closet to throw into the dirty laundry hamper.

_Even growls at a kid!_ She thought wildly, flinging socks into the air. _He's usually so good with kids… better than me! I'm usually the one who growls at them. … But never _literally_! The way he mauled that jock, it was like he was going to hurt him like that gang member wanted to hurt me last year. But instead of hurting me, the jock hurt Ron. I just don't get it, why'd he go all kung-fu on him, huh?_

"Don't forget to look through your pockets!" Mrs Possible's call came from below Kim's open floor door. "Last time I had to take out some quarters, I don't want those in with the wash."

"Yes, Mom!" Kim called back and began thrusting her hand in the pockets of her pants to pull out any stray money or whatever lurked within.

"Augh," she grunted when she realised she had some clothes on the floor in the back of her closet that had been there for, she didn't even want to _know_ how long. Bringing those forwards, she searched the pockets of those absent-mindedly as she dwelled on Ron's strange behaviour.

_Maybe I should just ask Wade. Maybe it's some psycho guy-PMS thing or—_

Kim pulled out a piece of paper from a pair of her pants. Nothing much to think of; while she continued to think of Ron, Kim just checked the note paper making sure it really was trash when she froze.

"This word…" she mumbled.

It was a really long, scientific word that Kim thought she had read before. Well, she _should_ have, this was her writing on the paper. Some science note perhaps? No… wait… That's it!

It was the name of the slip of paper taped to the inside of… of Ron's container: the one in his bedside drawer. She had forgotten all about it! The words on the paper were a bit runny as if they had already been in the wash once or maybe twice but at least they were still legible.

Kim sat on her legs as she stared hard at the word and mouthed it to herself.

Inside Ron's drawer had been a container with… it had been some kind of medicine. Small white tablets, right? Back then, Kim had been far too concerned with saving Ron's life since he had been in the coma back then to figure out this word. Then after that, she must have simply forgotten.

_Well, time to figure it out._

She thought about asking Wade, but then she had already violated Ron's privacy by going into his drawer, perhaps Kim should just web-search it on her own. Abandoning her laundry duties, Kim sat on her pink chair and shook away her screensaver.

_Alright, Ron… what are these little pills of yours..?_

It didn't take Kim long at all to find some results to the mysterious scientific word. As soon as she scrolled down her search list, she began to wonder if she typed the word up correctly. But after Kim double-checked, she still couldn't believe what this medicine of Ron's was supposed to be treating so she wondered if it also treated something _else_. Well, it did, sort of.

After reading a number of articles, Kim discovered that the medicine helped those who had come out of a coma. Which was a little ironic because, well, the thing was, these had been in Ron's drawer _before_ he had fallen under. Way before. So it _had_ to be this other thing it treated… She sat there stunned as she read the articles over and over. As much as she didn't want to admit it, her mind couldn't help but play around with the idea that…. Well… perhaps it was that far-fetched…

_I mean, after all… _Frustrated, Kim pushed herself out of her chair and began to pace around her bedroom with one hand behind her back, the other tapping her chin. She began to think rapturously: _But it can't be! It doesn't make sense, I mean, well, despite _that_, but… could he really be..?_

"Well there's only one way to find out," she muttered and reached for her telephone but she paused.

_Think this over first…_ So Kim sat on the edge of her bed, her hands gripping into her comforters as she thought at a plan to confirm her suspicion of these pills. _What can I do..?_ Then an idea came to her; she reached for the phone and pressed her speed dial.

"Yo, Kim?" Ron asked on the other end, he sounded a little on the tentative side.

"How'd you know it was me?" Kim smirked.

"Because you're, like, the only one who ever calls me?"

She laughed, "Glad to know you're not secretly talking to other girls. Hey, listen—"

"Look, if this is about earlier to-day—" Ron began with a stutter.

"No, I was thinking you could swing by, pick me up and we could go to the swimming pool."

"The swimming pool?" Ron asked, perplexed. "You wanna go to the swimming pool? Like, now?"

"Sure, why not?" Kim shrugged, attempting to sound nonchalant and actually succeeding. "It's Friday night, it seems a waste to just do nothing!"

"That's true!" He was beginning to sound reassured.

"Besides, aren't Fridays my Ron nights?"

Laughter came from the other end of the receiver. "Your what?"

"Just drive over, Ron! And bring your bathing suit!"

"Okay, okay, I'm game. Check ya in a few, KP!"

As soon as Kim hung up, she dashed into her closet to pull out a backpack, along with her swim suit then fled downstairs. Noticing her Father watching television in the sitting room, Kim called out where she was going with Ron before heading out the door.

It was night already, a light breeze still faint from winter played softly with Kim's hair. She pushed her hair out of her face and sat down on the steps, waiting for Ron to arrive. She appeared placid on the outside, but inside, her mind was still toying with her discovery. And more importantly, how she would go approaching Ron about it if she was correct…

She couldn't understand how it could be true, or even why or how she had missed it _all_ this time. But why did Ron have these pills? _Where did he_ get _them? Why has he been hiding this from me? We're supposed to know everything about each other, I can't understand that Ron would hide something this huge from me. How long has this been going on for? Why—_

_Honk-honk!_

She must have delved into thought longer than she thought for Ron parked his sleek scooter in front of Kim's house by the sidewalk and waved to her, honking the horn another two-or-three times.

Kim grinned and ran across the grass to meet him, (unfortunately, their snowman had long-since melted by then).

"Got your trunks?" She asked.

"Got your helmet?" Ron returned and passed one to her.

"Thanks!" Kim clipped it on and swung her leg over the scooter behind Ron and wrapped her arms… She stopped.

"Uh…" Ron had leaned forwards, hands on the handles but sat up when Kim didn't wrap her arms around him. "Umm… er… Maybe," he coughed, "You might wanna hang on? Like…"

"Oh, right, sorry, of course! Silly me…" Kim blushed and reached out to wrap them around Ron's stomach when she halted again, her teeth gritted.

"Kim?"

Kim took in a deep breath and wrapped her arms around Ron's waist.

"Uhh… You might wanna hold on a lil' tighter than that. I mean, that's just my suggestion, I dunno about you, but I like my blood _in_ my body."

Kim squeezed some more, "It doesn't hurt, does it?"

Ron twisted his head around, looking at her form the corner of his eye. "No. C'mon, KP, I'm not _that_ much of a wuss… Like,"

"I didn't mean it like _that_!"

"Does this have to do with earlier to-day, cos—"

"_No_," Kim snorted, growing a little hot tempered. "Alright, we dawdled long enough, let's jet."

Ron laughed, "That's what I'm saying!"

They arrived at the swimming pool without incident; Kim had to admit, she had been a tad on the wary side after what had happened earlier that day at school. Whatever Ron's 'alone time' was, it must have cooled him down for he showed no trace of aggression that he had showed at school or at the park. In fact, it was if it had never happened and that confused Kim since it had been going on non-stop since that morning.

"Feeling good, Ron?" Kim asked as she straightened herself, still sitting on the seat behind Ron and pulled off her helmet.

"H'm?" Ron asked. Kim had oh-so conveniently blinked just as Ron gave an uncharacteristic twitch of his head. "Oh, yea, I'm doing bon diggity, Kimila."

"Spankin'!" Kim smiled, giving him a pat on his shoulder and stood next to the scooter. She also missed the intense knotting of Ron's eyebrows as she had patted him and missed the slight snort.

But he slid off the scooter and joined Kim as they walked up the ramp to the swimming pool. He wasn't too keen on being out here with Kim in the dark, but then it was just a short walk, he reminded himself.

After they paid for their tickets, they had to split into their changing rooms. "Meet you on the other side!" Kim called, waving to Ron as she disappeared around the corner and into the girl's changing room.

Quickly, she changed into her black and blue bathing suit then stuffing her belongings into one of the available lockers. She skittered past the showers and entered the swimming pool area. It was unbelievable, but apparently she had changed faster than Ron had.

Kim shrugged and decided to wait for him in the pool. Even though it was a Friday night, there weren't actually very many people in the swimming pool as she thought there might have been. Well, most of the kids were in the other pool on the other side most likely.

She approached the pool stairs, a hand on the railing. When Ron emerged, she'd be able to make a guess for herself on whether or not she was right about his medicine. Her brow furrowed. It was still so difficult to believe and yet… yet it made sense… strangely.

Kim was already wading in the shallow end of the pool when she saw Ron emerging from the changing room in his blue swimming trunks. He walked up to the edge of the pool, looking doubtful. In his hands was Rufus' small, clear aqua-ball that the little mole-rat used to swim in. Ron peered over the edge of the pool, the dubious expression never leaving his face.

"Should I add 'water' to your fear file?" Kim teased, splashing up some water and bouncing up and down.

"_No_," Ron scowled and walked over to the staircase and slowly walked into the water, holding Rufus' aqua-ball above the water. Rufus chattered and with exaggerated caution, Ron lowered the ball onto the water, allowing Rufus to roll away on the surface, going where he so pleased.

Kim kicked up the water with her legs, swimming over to a lone red water board; Ron followed her walking in the shallow water with his arms above the water. Laughing, Kim pushed the floating board under the water, struggling to put it under feet and stand on it as it fiercely struggled to hit the surface.

"Don't do that," Ron cautioned, "It'll hit someone!"

"No it won't," Kim returned playfully, waving her arms about above the water, trying to keep her balance, the board was eager to return to the surface.

Ron tsked and waded away.

"Where are you going?" Kim asked and when she did, she lost concentration. The board slipped out from underneath and rocketed into the air, breaking the surface of the water. Kim cringed and Ron turned around to watch as the board soared into the air and then down… smacking the head of a swimmer in one of the swimming lanes.

"Aughgghghhhh!" came the strangled cry of the swimming.

"Told you so," Ron chimed, looking smug.

"Oops," Kim muttered, slipping into the water further to hide herself from the petulant eye of the swimmer. "Sorryblrblup," she said as she melted into the water, submerging herself completely.

"Kim..?" Ron asked, trying to spy Kim under the water. She had slipped out of his view like a sea-serpent and was no-where to be found. He shook his head, striding through the water over to Rufus who was bounding about happily in his aqua-ball. Something brushed by his leg.

He swerved around, scanning the surface of the water for Kim underneath, she seemed to be able to hold her breath forever. "Kim, c'mon, quit hiding! Where'd you-" Ron never finished his sentence.

Underneath the water, Kim sped by Ron, grabbing his legs and swept him right off his feet. He fell backwards into the water gurgling indignities as he went.

"Hah!" Kim cried triumphantly, bursting through the surface of the water, flipping her wet hair back so she could see. Kim bounced up and down elatedly scanning for Ron. She laughed, grinning with dazzling eyes. She craned her neck, searching for Ron, still smiling, knowing he was probably going to return the surprise attack.

He did, he flew out of the water behind Kim and grabbed her around her middle, pinning her arms. Kim gave a delighted scream from the surprise then Ron dove back under the water, throwing himself backwards as Kim laughed, playfully struggling to break free from his grasp. Ron let go of her under the water and swam away.

"Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew!" Kim squawked when she returned to the surface, treading in the deeper water they had gotten themselves into. "You got water up my nose for that!"

Ron was backstroking on the surface of the water laughing without a care.

Kim snorted the water up her nose when she was trying to blow it out. She rubbed her nose and dove after Ron, reaching him easily as he leisurely swam about on his back. With her arms, Kim swept up a wave of water and splashed it onto his face. Ron cried out and she laughed again, waiting for his returning compliments.

In a swift motion, Ron was upright in the water and leapt at Kim in a great bound, pushing her under the water with him. She fought him lightly in their play, trying to wriggle away from him as he chased after her. He gave up chasing her as Kim had always been a faster and stronger swimmer than he, so he settled for splashing Kim back which Kim mimicked. They soon found themselves shrieking with laughter as they splashed one another, moving in a stealthy circle around the other, trying to avoid an impending lunge.

Kim lunged first, grabbing Ron's slippery shoulders, trying to dunk him under the water. But he didn't dunk easily and he quickly overpowered her, giving her the surprise dunk, but Kim didn't mind and allowed him to push her under and then swim away while she took time to resurface.

Watching Ron swim towards the shallow end where Rufus was still playing, Kim took in a great breath of air and slid into the water, swimming underneath like a dolphin after him. She caught up to him quickly and struck him around his middle, wrapping her arms tightly around his bare stomach then broke the water surface and dragged him over to the stairs as he wriggled like a fish in her grip.

Before she managed to reach the stairs with him, he slipped free of her grasp and swam away. Laughing, she swam after him, catching him quickly again attempting to give him that dunking she owed him.

Expecting him to struggle against her, Ron stopped, standing in the shallow water. Kim stood close to him, her hands still on his shoulders. She bent her head down, but looked up at him through her dripping bangs clinging to her forehead. She was so close to him… and he was…

She was reminded of when she had been watching Ron shower when their hands had still been attached. She remembered him in his boxers, showering… wet… and how _nice_ he looked…. But Ron wasn't looking at her, his head was turned and she followed his line of sight, curious to what he might be looking at.

"Hey, look!" he said eagerly and bounded away from her arms and swam towards a large floating something in the water.

Kim was a little disappointed in his eagerness to slip from her grasp but looked down at the lanyard bracelet she wore, smiling. Sighing, she waded after him then swam when the water became too deep.

Ron had disappeared and the floating, multi-coloured foam basin water-toy began to float towards her. When it reached her, Ron swam to her from the other side, holding it steady.

"Badical! We get one to ourselves! Usually the little kids snag these."

"They're all in the other two pools, I bet," Kim commented. She held onto the rim and heaved herself up and out of the water. Water poured off of her as she leaned into the basin. Shifting herself onto her back, she laid down, resting her head on the rim as her calves dangled over the edge.

"Scoot over!" Ron said as he too pulled himself out of the water, but with more of a struggle than she had. Kim smiled to herself, Ron had heaved himself out of the water but the water slipped some of Ron's boxers down, revealing some of his pelvis bone.

_Nice and low_, she mused to herself as Ron twisted uncomfortable to lie next to her.

"This is nice," Ron said. He too dangled his legs over the edge, resting his head on the rim next to Kim's. He swung his arm over the edge, trailing his fingers into the water placidly as they allowed the foam basin to drift about, easygoing.

Shifting her head, Kim looked at Ron lying beside her. It was this opportunity Kim had been hoping for… While Ron's eyes were closed, a smile on his face, Kim studied Ron's features… seeing for herself if her suspicions were accurate.

And they had to be. Kim didn't understand how she had never noticed before even with all the times she had seen him shirtless. Even when he had been showering, she had been so infatuated with his features that she never truly noticed _how_ thin Ron really was. Too thin.

She had to keep in mind that Ron _was_ lying down, so his stomach weight would obviously be falling with gravity and thus he would appear thinner when standing… but still. Didn't that help show exactly _how_ thin he was?

Kim's eyes swept from his chest to his stomach, she was so stunned to see how much his stomach dipped inwards. It wasn't right, she thought grimly, biting her lower lip. _Yes_, she concluded, _Ron, you're _too _thin…But _why

She laid her head back, troubled in her thoughts. It was the evidence she didn't want. Kim stared at the wooden planks of the ceiling above, feeling the drops of water run down her legs and arms, tickling her.

_Great, now I'll_ have _to talk to Ron about this, and probably end up telling him I went into his ever-sacred drawer…_ Kim closed her eyes, pondering her next move.

But as her eyes were closed, she didn't notice Ron open an eye of his, peering at her. Oblivious to her troubling, in-depth thoughts, he grinned at her stealthily, mistaking her for mere relaxing.

Ron sat himself up as quietly as he could, still keeping an eye on Kim, but he didn't know she was too swarmed with her thoughts to notice his wriggling about… at least… until he began rocking the basin back and forth.

"What the—" Kim began, opening an eye as Ron swayed from side to side, causing the basin to rock with him. The rocking motion built up and water began flooding the basin. "What are you doing!" Kim squealed, now gripping the basin, her fingers digging into the foam it was made of.

"Oh, c'mon, KP, it's fun!"

"No. It's. Not!" she wailed as she struggled to steady the basin, but in her attempt to steady it, she only made it rock more and more and more…. And then…

"Aaaaiieee, RON!"

"Hahaha-aah-gLarghghg!"

Ron's laughter was cut off as he hit the water with Kim when the water basin tipped over completely.

Kim gasped for breath, blinking away the water from her eyes as she bobbed up and down. Instead of surfacing into the pool area, she found herself underneath the small airspace between the bottom of the upside-down water-basin and the water. Ron too broke surface in front of her, laughing at the overturn despite it backfiring on him. Kim smiled at Ron's happiness; to see him so full of cheer and typical Ron ignorant bliss comforted Kim in a loving way.

Looking around, it came to Kim that they suddenly had some privacy underneath the overturned water-basin. Ron was too oblivious, but Kim smiled deviously and moved closer to Ron. He blinked in typical confusion when she placed her hands gently on his bare, wet shoulder. But he caught on when Kim leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips.

Ron recoiled for a second, but soon leaned in and returned the long, sweet kiss. When they broke apart, Kim wrapped one arm around his neck and leaned again to kiss, their first _shared_ kiss since that night, long, long ago, up in Kim's room when their hands had still been attached to one another's. Before all the disastrous events that had torn them apart.

Ron placed his hands tender on her bare arms. They broke apart again and Ron began to kiss Kim softly on her cheek near her ear repeatedly. Kim's breathing was slow and ragged from the minimal air they had underneath. Kim leaned her face next to Ron's and nuzzled him softly while he kissed her. She gave him a few of her own kisses before pulling apart to gaze at one another. Ron was smiling faintly, pleased with Kim.

She blushed intensely, not sure what to say or do next. Kim was saved the trouble when a soft bumping noise came from outside the basin on the surface. Ron seemed to have a notion on what it was and promptly dove underneath the water, leaving Kim alone.

She sighed, _Now I have this… issue to deal with…Oh, and don't forgot the _other _issue that occurred earlier to-day at school. Goodness, Ron, what's up with you, huh? I hope our dealing with it won't upset our… togetherness this time. _She flushed as she remember him kissing her. _I _really _don't want anything disturbing…us being like _that _again._

Resurfacing, Kim found Ron holding Rufus in his aqua-ball (it had been the Rufus bumping the aqua-ball into the upside-down water-basin that had caused the noise).

"Let's head back to your place," Ron said suddenly, unscrewing the lid of Rufus' aqua-ball, allowing the little rodent to breath in fresh air. "Um, Rufus is getting a little tuckered out."

Kim nodded, not really saying anything. She glanced at the large clock overhead, "We've been here for an hour actually. We should go back and tackle some of our homework."

"Homework?" Ron snorted, following Kim towards the shallow-end. "But it's _Friday_, still!"

"Better to get it all done ahead of time, don't you think?" Kim replied, but Ron was oblivious to the obvious tone in her voice that her mind was clearly elsewhere.

Of course it was elsewhere, she thought as she pulled out of the swimming pool, heading for her towel that she had stuffed in her cubicle; Ron taking his.

Kim watched Ron oddly as he laid Rufus and his aqua-ball to one side as he quickly dried himself off. Underneath the water basin, Kim had come to realise that if she truly cared that much for Ron, she would have to deal with these new issues.

One of them, the one that happened at school, was still unknown to her and even though, when it had occurred, it was worthy of a high-pri post, this new one she had confirmed was… _Yes_, _confirmed_. (It was confirmed now, wasn't it?) was even higher.

She had been right…

But it _couldn't_ be right.

She had evidence…

But did she really?

She now knew that Ron was bulimic.

But she would only know by confronting him.

Their devotion was not complete just yet; there were a few more obscurities to overcome. And even more than Kim truly knew at the time…


	11. Mating Season

Author's Note: Thanks once again to the wonderful reviewers: conan98002, loser7, Kitsune6, JPMod, John Steppenwolf, Masau, Rufus 986, strength-91-possibility-non, Deyinel, Gryfffinrose, mattb3671, LJ Fan, Jak4, Ice Ian Combat, Ezbok58a, momike, ZDafara470, Dr. Cube, The Infernal, nessa92, vanillalilies, techgeekstar, robin guerrero, Cold-Chaos, Nakasumisan, Visigoth29527, thsunami, Ptashas Leri (OMGOMGOMG iHRT U!), Stoppable-san, Rachel Lupin, pheonia, chao-hellsing, Tariq, eViLrEadEr, Char and, as always, Loo (let's aaa_OOOOUUUUU_t to-night!).

The lateness it burns! It buuurrrrnns, yes I know. Let us stab IRL with many a sharp object with _vindiction_. I'll try to get the next one out quickly because I know this one is so short compaired to my others. Sorry guys, but thank-you so much for continuing to read the story through, esp to the reviewers cos omg you guys rock a lot. Even when it gets rough, just keep in mind the _title_ of the story, yes ;D? Thanks again, everyone!

-A. King

* * *

¤ Instalment 11 »» _Mating Season _¤ 

I don't want to seem frantic

I don't want to cramp your style

You're driving me into a panic

You just wanna drive me wild

-Oingo Boingo, '_Violent Love'_

* * *

Back at Kim's house, she and Ron were currently lying together on the sofa with a soft, flannel blanket thrown on top of the both of them. They lay propped up so they were both able to watch Kim's giant plasma screen television, Kim laid her head a little lower than Ron's as so he would be able to watch the TV as well. 

It had been almost two hours since their trip to the swimming pool during which they spent their time homeworking and now both were done for the day. Not once had Kim brought up the discovery about Ron, she was still contemplating a game plan. Years of being with Ron told her he could be quite reluctant and broody at times and wanted to approach him and receive the best mood possible from him.

No, instead they were both watching an episode of _Pals_. Kim's two younger brothers, Jim and Tim, were watching as well, their chins in their hands lying on the floor just in front of the TV. Often Mrs Possible lectured the boys not to sit too close, but they never adhered.

Mrs Possible would be returning from the kitchen soon to harass them once again while Mr Possible sat in his usual armchair, reading the rest of the newspaper that he hadn't been able to finish reading that morning. It was a calm sort of evening, the ones Kim was used to and enjoyed spending with Ron.

They were halfway into the show and Kim chuckled as the brunette made a fool of herself in front of her crush at the launder mat. Oddly, Kim hadn't heard any sounds of laughter from Ron yet. But maybe he was spent from their swimming pool adventure; he was probably just mellowing out, maybe even falling asleep. To think of it, he'd probably be leaving after _Pals_ was over too. Kim decided to take pleasure in what time she had left with him for the night so she nestled backwards into Ron discreetly as to not attract her Father's attention.

It was not long after she did this that she felt Ron shuffle around from behind her. She recognised his movements as him lowering himself and she guesstimated that Ron would be around her head level now. Kim assumed he was falling asleep since now he wouldn't be able to see the television at his current position.

Kim didn't think twice of his actions until she felt his hand gently skim her bare arm. She resisted a shudder, surprised with his actions. Maybe it was just her, but Ron's actions felt… well… somewhat idyllic. In the end, she dismissed his touch as an accidental brush.

But that dismissal was soon brought back to case when he touched her again. Kim fidgeted awkwardly, trying to discreetly tell Ron that here was _so_ not the place for that kind of thing and for him to just stop, please and thank-you. She most certainly didn't want her Father's eyes to meander and see what Ron was doing.

Yet, Ron didn't stop.

Kim felt more of his brushing, was it her imagination or did he even brush his hand on her _hip_! Kim felt herself grow panicky and she shifted herself more under the blanket.

Then her eyes lit up. She felt something wet on the back of her neck. Kim was too startled to move again, but her mouth distinctly formed a well-rounded 'o' shape. Kim _distinctly_ recognised this 'wet' to be Ron's _tongue_. Eyes still wide in abhorrence, she felt Ron press his lips to her neck and begin to suck softly.

That was it, Kim leapt from the sofa, forgetting about not wanting to cause a scene.

"Kimmie-cub!" her Father alarumed, dropping the newspaper.

"Uh, _homework_! Just remembered. Big project. Due to-morrow. Ron, uh, upstairs. _Now_." Kim latched onto Ron's arm and pulled him out of the room right as her Mother walked into it and gave them both a curious glance. Kim didn't even look twice; she just marched up the stairs and all the way to her loft bedroom, basically dragging Ron.

Only once she locked her loft door did she whip around at Ron who had landed into her computer chair. To Kim's bewilderment, he was looking at her as if he didn't even know what all the hubbub was about. She wasn't sure what to expect from his expression, but certainly not innocence.

"What do you think were doing down there!" Kim squealed. "My _parents_ were in the room, _hel-lo_?"

She stood waiting for some sort of response from Ron. He sat there, a dull look on his face, almost unintelligent confusion that Kim couldn't comprehend. "Ron? Hello? Anybody in the upper story? Oh, right, no, of course not. What am I thinking? It's all going on do-"

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, his expression still not down to earth.

Kim crossed her arms and leaned to one side. "Then answer me, Ron. What was going through your head? I mean, like…" Kim shook her head in frustration, trying to spell this out for Ron. "You just _don't_ go putting moves on me in front of the 'rentals, right?"

Ron said nothing. Squinting her eyes at him in confusion, she noted his tilted head; he didn't seem to be listening to her at all.

"So do you get that?" Kim asked as Ron stood up. She _had_ to make sure this wouldn't happen again. Her parents might not be so oblivious next time. "We-"

Before she could speak, Ron was standing right in front of her, his eyes looked distant. In fact, he was standing a little _too_ close. Ok, make that, _way past_ too close.

"Ron, what the..?"

His hands were at her arms, barely touching her, his head tilting as if to meet her neck. Startled, Kim tried to back away from him, but instead tripped on her beanbag chair behind her, landing into it with a flop.

It didn't even take a blink before Ron was at her side. He was beside her on the bean sack but an arm of his stretched over her as if blocking her from pulling up. Looking up, Kim found him to be looking directly into her eyes. Kim's immediate response was to flush, and when she stared penetratingly into his eyes as he did to her, she noticed that same sort of… distanced, unintelligence in his eyes. As if he wasn't quite himself.

_How odd…_

Gingerly, Ron skimmed his hand by her neck, causing Kim to shiver and her teeth to chatter. She closed her eyes and felt Ron lean on top of her to continue what she had interrupted downstairs. Kim couldn't help but gasp when Ron started to suck on her neck again gently. When he did, she squirmed underneath him, putting a hand on his chest as if to push him away but, for some reason, her strength decided to fail her.

"Ron…"

He made no reply, other than to present her neck with a few swipes of his tongue.

Kim had no idea what was going on or why Ron was starting this. Maybe he was a little too eager to continue their little under-the-water-toy adventure. But still, for Ron to completely ignore her parents and then not even pay attention while she demanded his attention was strange. She really ought to take authority again and push him off but instead she felt the desire to slip her own tongue into his mouth.

No need, he already did. She made a muffled sound of surprise when he did but still couldn't push him away no matter how much that little weirdar in the back of her mind sounded off.

It went into full blast when he crawled completely on top of her, leg on either side of her and pinning her to the bean chair. That was when her strength decided to kick in and she pulled away from Ron quickly, trying to shove him off of herself.

Except… he resisted her.

_What!_

"Nrgg, get off, Ron!" she hissed this at him, not wanting to raise her voice and attract her parents downstairs. She stared at him as he narrowed his eyes at her, applying his own strength against hers to stay on top of her.

"Ron!" she squealed. "Wha… just… get off! Don't make me scream, ok? What are you _doing_!"

Her hand on his chest, straining from his pressure, she was able to look into his eyes. They were glazed, not the Ron she knew. Something was definitely _not_ right here. Ron always listened to her and for some reason, he wasn't… it was like he couldn't hear her at all. Not her Ron anyway…

_That's it,_ Kim gritted her teeth. She'd have to use cheer skills on Ron to get him off of her. She didn't want to harm him, but it looked like it was the only way to knock some sense into Ron.

Twisting underneath him as he fought her back, Kim managed to slip her knee up and jab him in the stomach. Ron grunted and pulled away in pain, Kim took this chance to pull right out from underneath him and stand over him.

"Ron, _what_ do you—"

But Ron leapt up to his feet in such a speed Kim had never seen before. Except, she had when—

While her mind was momentarily distracted, Ron leapt at her and Kim let out a wail as they dropped to the floor.

"_Get off_," Kim hissed. She was a little bit worried she might let out an uncontrolled scream and attract her parents. There _had_ to be an explanation behind this; Kim hadn't forgotten that look in Ron's eyes either.

But yet again Ron wouldn't pull off. Ron gritted his teeth as he pinned her arms down and tried to press himself again against her once more. Kim managed to pull one arm from his grasp and put it near the base of the neck and push him away there. Perhaps it would create enough discomfort that Ron would be forced to remove himself because of lack of air.

It worked for only a moment before he was on her again and they began a tumble on the floor, both fighting each other in a power struggle.

"Ergghh!" Kim moaned as her head hit her toy chest as Ron once again thudded her to the ground. He was sitting on top of her, one hand of his own around her neck, the other gripping her arm. Kim threw her head back and gasped for air.

"_Stop_," she whispered, it was all she was able to say through the crushing of her windpipe. Perhaps seeing her in such a distressed state, Ron would halt in compassion, but he didn't even seem to register Kim's pain.

Kim squirmed and fidgeted, whining and muttering. She turned her face away as Ron tried to kiss her and as she did, she spotted her backpack lying on the floor. The one she had taken with her on the jungle mission to the monkey temple. And there, hanging out of one of the side pockets was her water bottle.

_It's worked in the movies, it had so better work here or I'm sunk!_

Kim brought up her only free hand that was trying to push Ron away and uttered a pre-apology then she curved her fingernails and clawed Ron across the face.

"Arghhgh!" Ron screamed as he reared off of her, clutching at his face.

Kim took her moment of freedom and sprang to her backpack before Ron was able to recover. Swiping the water bottle from the pouch, Kim leapt to her feet, unscrewed the cap and splashed the water all over Ron just as he was getting to his feet.

He fell to the floor on his knees, so did Kim. Sucking in her breath, Kim watched Ron with extreme caution. If it didn't work… Oh goodness, what would she do if it didn't work! Kim swallowed, nervous as she waited for some kind of response from him.

Ron double blinked, rooted to his spot on the floor. Cautiously, Kim peered at him, evaluating. Hopefully the splash of water brought him out of that insane frenzy.

It did.

Immediately, Kim recognised Ron's distinct deflating emotion and she let out a sigh of relief. Panting, he shrunk back, his eyes wide. They meandered all across the floor, but never met Kim's. It was obvious he wasn't just sulking because he was wet; Ron, whatever state he had been in, was aware of what he had been doing and was now ashamed.

"Ron…" Kim called out, extending a hand.

"No, Kim, I-I," Ron stuttered, his head hung low, backing away from her. "I-it's not what you think. I mean, like," he made a whining whimper in his throat, "Kim, oh my gosh, you're gonna think it's like Australia all over again but for real and it's _not_. I just… I…" Ron backed up all the way and hid on the other side of Kim's bed so she could no longer see him.

Kim couldn't help but pity him. After all they had gone through pre-coma, she didn't blame him for assuming she'd think that of him. But of course, looking down at her intricately woven lanyard bracelet with the little world-heart charm, she didn't.

"Ron," she said sweetly, crawling on her hands and knees towards him on the other side of her bed, "Calm down! I'm not going to bite you. Heck, I thought _you_ were going to bite _me_."

She found Ron on the other side, pressed to her wall and leaning slightly into her bed, still hunched over and appearing very frightened.

Smiling genially, she crawled forwards again until she was right beside Ron and put an arm around him. "All you gotta do is tell me what was up with that. I'm here to listen, remember?"

Ron leaned away from her, keeping his head down, he shook it. "Don't sit so close to me, Kim. I just, augh, I just can't take it anymore!"

"Wha..?"

"You don't understand!" he moaned.

"Well, maybe if you _tell_ me-"

"Kim, this happens at, like, _every_ spring" he rambled, "But, like, never this intense, not ever! It's just, like, I'm _sorry_, KP but I… I couldn't control it. I always kept control and stuff but this time I dunno what came over me, it just totally sneak attacked me. I didn't mean to do anything to you, Kim. I _so_ mean that."

"I don't understand," Kim said, sitting with her legs folded up, her hands resting on her knees. "What happens every spring?"

Ron furrowed his brow, becoming intensely frustrated with himself. "I can't say," he murmured. "I just… it's _in_ me, KP. I don't understand why it feels _this_ strong this year."

"_What's_ in you?" Kim pressed quietly.

"The Mystical Monkey Power," Ron breathed, still not meeting her in the eyes.

Kim let out a soft 'Oh…' as she gazed at Ron next to her. "H'mm… does this… does this have to do with the Monkey Temple thing yesterday?"

"I don't know."

"You said you heard music…"

"I remember!" Ron wailed a little too strongly.

"Shh," Kim whispered, trying to calm him. "I don't really understand what you're talking about, but… maybe I should contact Wade and—"

"_No!_" Ron's hanging head was up in a shot. "C'mon, KP, don't… I can deal with this myself. I know what it is. It's all smoothtastic now."

"But maybe it isn't for me," Kim replied a little dryly.

Ron gnashed his teeth quietly as he contemplated.

"Ron…"

"No, Kim," Ron stood up suddenly and walked (almost looked like he marched, his walk was so mechanical) over to her trap floor-door and turned to face her. "I should go home. I'll see you to-morrow or something. I'll have it in check, I swear."

"Ron—"

"It's nothing to worry about, KP," Ron insisted.

"Well I think it is!" she replied a little too hotly. "How do I know you're not gonna… like… gonna jump me again, huh? And earlier to-day too! You were going to mangle that kid and that jock, how can I be sure?"

"Because!" Ron shouted back.

Kim stood with her eyes wide open. "Chill, Ron, chill…"

"Sorry. Look, it really is late. My parents might worry and—"

"Pfft, yeah, right."

"Kim!"

Kim blushed looking away.

"I _promise_ it won't happen again, ok?"

"But how can I be sure? I don't even know what's going on, Ron. I just know this has to do with your Monkey Power and that temple India mission."

"Because I promise."

Kim raised her head, looking at Ron through her low hanging hair as she stood up.

"Do you trust me, Kim?" he asked. When she didn't reply, Ron pressed, "You trust me, don't you?" And then his eyes darted to her bracelet that he had given her for Christmas.

"Yes, Ron," she felt forced to say. "Of course I trust you."

"I wouldn't put you in harms way, c'mon, you know that."

"Of course, silly me."

Ron gave her a final smile before he fled down the stairs. After he left, Kim returned the smile with a weak and feeble one.

Even when Ron had left and minutes had passed and he was probably no longer in her house anymore, Kim still felt vulnerable from what had just happened. Still, with Ron's 'explanation' (if you could call it that), she decided it'd be best to have a chat with her instant-solution pal.

Standing up, Kim treaded to her computer and turned it on, contacting Wade.

"Hi, Wade."

"Oh, hey, Kim. How's it going?"

"Oh," Kim shrugged, still looking slightly harried from her struggle with Ron on the floor. "I've got a question for you, actually."

"Go ahead," Wade nodded, leaning back in his seat comfortably.

"It's about that mission yesterday, actually."

"Uh-oh," Wade sat back up looking grim. "Don't tell me we've got another back-fired mission."

"That's what I'm beginning to wonder," Kim replied darkly. "See, it's Ron…"

"What about him?"

"Well, remember how he fainted because he heard the invisible music from the harp? Do you think… No, I get that… I mean… I know it boosted his monkey power probably, right?"

Wade shrugged, "I dunno. Did it?"

Kim rolled her eyes recalling earlier that day. "It definitely did. But, see… If it boosted his monkey power… I just…"

"Why don't you just say it, Kim?" Wade prodded. "I may be a Super Genius, but I fail at charades."

Kim snorted a short laugh. "Never mind." She honestly didn't feel like telling Wade, or anyone for that matter, about what Ron had attempted. She was slightly apprehensive someone might misinterpret, or take it for what she now called an 'Australian Mistake'. Kim couldn't help but shiver again when recalling looking into Ron's possessed eyes as he had pinned her on the floor.

"So, yea, Ron does have enhanced power," Kim continued. "But… say, do you know when it'd, like, wear off?"

"Wear off?"

"Yea, cos," she gave another short laugh, "He was bouncing off the walls to-day in school!"

"Let me do some digging…" Kim watched Wade on the screen type at his computer and scroll with his mouse as he browsed. "I'm not getting much, actually," he said, sounding slightly baffled. "But my guess is it'll just wear off by the end of to-day."

"Really?"

"Well from what I can find, it's actually only a temporary boost. Although, the odd thing is, it never actually mentions… well it does, but it's so vague!"

"Vague?"

"Yea. When it comes to describing the power boost and the purpose of the temple… it gives the _impression_ of the Mystical Monkey Power boost but—"

It was then that Kim gasped softly as she remembered the temple; Wade lifted his head to her in curiosity.

"Kim?"

_I think I get it now…_

If it was really just Ron's Mystical Monkey Power that had been enhanced, why had he tried to… well… why had he tried to do _that_ to her? Leaping around like a monkey at school made sense, even his attack on the jock did and his animalistic behaviour, but what had just occurred here in her room didn't.

Unless.

"Wade," Kim commanded, her voice rushed. "Can you bring up images of inside the temple? I think I remember something but… I can't be sure… Refresh my memory."

"Uh, okay…" Wade quickly surfed some net sites and brought up some images for Kim to scroll through: images of the engravings on the hallways, the second floor, the Hall and then the harp on the pedestal.

That's what Kim had remembered, anxiously, she zoomed in on the photo of the harp, or to be more precise, the _tapestry_ behind the harp. She bit her lower lip. The image, that's what it had been of, women worshipping a Monkey Powered Warrior. He was glowing on the tapestry and the harp was in one hand. The next photo she browsed was one of the pillow rooms.

The pillow room, the tapestry behind the harp? Both had been blatant clues that Kim never had picked up on until now. Not only that but Ron had mentioned _Spring_.

"Oh my goodness…" she murmured to herself.

_That's _the kind of Mystical Monkey Power it had enhanced, wasn't it? It didn't just heighten the Power in general, but a _specific_ kind of the Monkey Power that became active in Spring… and the women there… and the rooms full of pillows…

"Wade are you _positive _it'll wear off by the end of to-day?" She turned back to her computer screen, frantic.

"It only makes sense," Wade replied. "They say it's only temporary and from what I'm guessing, just a night or two although I'm not sure why, I guess when they're in battle and—"

"_POSITIVE?_"

"Positive!" Wade recoiled, shocked and nervous at Kim. "I'm telling you what I'm reading, that's all!"

"Alright. Okay. Thanks, Wade. That's all for now."

Wade nodded slowly, but still eyed Kim warily as if she was about to jump through the computer screen and start ringing his neck in an attack for certainty.

"Y-you're welcome."

Kim nodded once more and shut the computer off. Standing up, Kim decided to work on the rest of her homework some more before packing it in for the night. As she reached down into her backpack next to her bed on the other side and pulled out her textbooks, she couldn't help but think anxiously:

_I sure hope you're right, Wade._

-ø-

Kim awoke the next morning to discover she had slept in rather late for a Saturday, but then her mind _had_ been abuzz what with all the Ron Current Events last night. Coughing, Kim pulled herself out of bed and headed down stairs in her purple pyjamas for some of her Mother's breakfast.

"Morning!" Kim called as she waltzed into the kitchen and headed for a plate.

"Good morning, sweetie," Mrs Possible returned, tending to the bacon on the stove. "And how was your night?"

Instantly Kim halted, but it only lasted a second before she recollected herself. "It was just fine, and yours?"

"Good, good," Mrs Possible nodded back.

Kim came to stand beside her Mother by the stove as she piled some of the already cooked eggs onto her plate. It was then that Mr Possible walked into the kitchen and called his greetings to his family.

"You know," Mrs Possible mentioned as she picked up some bacon with the clasps and placed two strips onto her daughter's plate.

"H'mm?" Kim asked, sliding into the breakfast table. "What's that, Mom?"

"Last night," Mrs Possible exchanged a glance with her husband seated across from their daughter at the breakfast table. Kim didn't notice as she was too busy munching on her bacon. "We noticed Ron left in a huff rather abruptly."

"Did he?" Kim asked.

Again Mr and Mrs Possible exchanged looks with one another. "He did," Mrs Possible continued. "Is everything okay between the two of you?"

"I hope it's not another fight," Mr Possible added, opening a rocket science magazine. "Because this time your Mother and I—"

"Oh, so not the drama," Kim waved her hand as she slurped up the rest of her bacon already in her mouth.

"Chew first, Kimmie," Mrs Possible drawled.

Kim rolled her eyes and finished chewing. "No, everything's okay. He's, uh, probably just homework stressed or something."

"Alright…" Mrs Possible replied, her voice trailing off. Kim shrugged and neglected to notice her Father watching her stonily from over his magazine.

"Do the two of you have any plans for to-day?" her Mother asked.

"Umm…" Kim thought of what had happened last night and her bizarre encounter with Ron.

Even though at the time she hadn't been as frightened as she should have been (as she _did_ fight men way buffer than Ron on a near daily basis), then just like the gang fight, belatedly, it began to dawn on Kim how chilling that event yesterday had been. As Kim sat there, her eyes glazing over while she stared down at her eggs, she began to actually connect words to what Ron had been trying to do to her. Or, to be more correct, (her eyes darted to her bracelet), what that… 'possession' that had had a hold of Ron had tried to do to her. She shivered.

Did she really want to encounter Ron so soon? But then, Wade had said it should have worn off by now…

_And I should trust Ron._ Her eyes fell onto her charm bracelet dangling around her slim wrist, the little world-heart swinging from side to side. _He knows his power and… and he'll know when it's safe to approach me. He's never (intentionally) put me in harm's way before. Besides, look where not believing Ron put me! I'm not looking forward to another depressing-emo-fight slash coma shout-match session any time soon… or ever, really._

"He'll phone me if he wants to do something," Kim concluded. Just in case her parents weren't convinced, she added, "I choose to go to the swimming pool yesterday. It's his day to choose what we do."

This time Kim saw the look her parents exchanged and rather than one of disbelief it was one of being impressed.

"Not only that," Kim went on, "I still have a project to work on for History class. In fact," Kim stood up, "I think I'll go type up the good copy of my essay now. I still have some more proof-reading to do." And then she walked out of the kitchen, not even putting her plate into the dish washer. She even marched right passed Jim and Tim who were bounding down the stairs without even an insult.

-ø-

"YOU TWEEBS!" Kim hollered, her arms swinging up into a possible fist as Jim ran past her in a flurry to avoid her fury. "QUIT STEPPING ON MY PROJECT! This is the _third_ time I'm going to have to print that out!"

"Then don't leave your project on the floor!" Tim retorted rudely from the stair banister.

"It HAS to be on the floor!" she screamed back, "It's on _poster board_! And if you DARE step on my illustrations—"

"Ha!" Tim laughed back, "What illustrations? They look like chicken scratch!"

"TWEEB!"

"Maybe you should snog up Mankey and he'd draw your stupid illustrations for you!" Jim called from on top of their Dad's favourite armchair.

"Don't you say things like that! I don't like Josh anymore!"

"No, you're right!" Tim went on yelling from the stairs, "You like _RON_ now!"

Kim's face turned an instant shade of red.

"Does Ron know you were making out with Josh when he was in the coma!"

"Yes he does and –_HEY!_ DID _NOT_ MAKE-OUT WITH JOSH," Kim flung herself at the chesterfield for a pillow and hurled one at Tim which hit the banister instead then the other at Jim which smacked him right in the face and he fell off of Mr Possible's chair with a thud.

"HEY!" he shouted.

"Maybe not!" Tim went on, ignoring his brother, "BUT WE KNOW YOU'RE MESSING AROUND WITH RON."

"EWWWWWWWWWWWWEWEWEWEEWWW!" Jim flailed.

Kim let out a horrific yell and reached for another pillow when the one she had flung and missed at Tim returned to her in the means of being struck in the back of the head.

"CAN'T YOU TWEEBS JUST _LEAVE ME ALONE!_"

"KIM AND RON, SITTING IN A TREE—"

That was Kim's boiling point, with lightning speed, Kim flew from her spot on the floor, her leg bashing into the coffee table and tore after Tim, her feet already feeling a rug burn.

"KIM! Tim! Jim! _Stop it!_" Mrs Possible marched down the stairs, her arms crossed looking every bit enraged.

"SHE STARTED IT."

"No, I didn't! Mom, they were running all over my project! It's not fair!"

"She threw pillows at us!"

"I fell and hit my head…"

"He threw them back at me!"

"Only one!"

"Enough!" Mr Possible rumbled, coming down the stairs behind his wife. "Jim, Tim, we want the two of you back upstairs in your room _now_."

"But, Dad!"

"_Now_, boys. We'll come upstairs to talk to the both of you later."

"Fiiiiiiine," the two moaned in chorus and marched like beaten soldiers back up the stairs, but not before casting their sister a nasty look and a stuck out tongue to which Kim returned.

"Kimmie," Mrs Possible warned.

"Sorry," Kim replied sullenly, hands behind her back. She turned around to look at her poster project on the floor in front of the television. Her papers, diagrams, illustrations and header were all over the room and she sighed grievously. "I'm going to have to print that all out again!" she moaned and bent down over her work trying to gather it all together again.

"Are you _sure_ we can't sell Jim and Tim? I go all over the world and—"

An arched eyebrow from each parent made Kim close her mouth.

"Kimmie, can we talk to you for a moment?"

"One moment…" Kim muttered as she shuffled her essay papers into the right order. "Sure." Standing up and seeing her parents sitting next to each other on the sofa made Kim feel a little uneasy. Was she really in _that_ much trouble?

She sat down in front of them and rearranged herself so she was comfortable yet even so, Kim still felt the adrenaline-metre raise and lower with wobbled caution.

"What's the sitch?" she asked, trying to keep the stutter out of her voice.

Kim's Mother spoke first. "We wanted to talk to you about you and Ron, actually."

Now this confused Kim. "Oh?" she replied befuddled. But then she remembered her talk with her parents at breakfast time. "We're not having an argument, really! If you want, you can ring him up right now and—"

"It's not that," her Father interrupted.

"It's really more…" Kim's Mother drifted off. "Only a talk that we think we should have."

"About Ron?"

"And you."

"What about us?"

"About your friendship with Ron and…" Mrs Possible looked at her husband who remained stern. "And the relationship between you and him."

"What are you talking about?" Kim asked, her voice become dangerously wary.

"Well," Mrs Possible continued, "We just think that… you and Ron should think things over…"

"W-what are you talking about?"

"We couldn't help but notice Ron left in rather a hurry last night after the two of you headed upstairs," Mr Possible added.

"Yea, so?" Kim snorted back. "He's prone to hissy-fits. I thought we talked about this this morning."

"We _also_," Mrs Possible continued, giving Kim a stern eye for her snorted retort. "Couldn't help but notice that Ron has been spending the night here quite frequently."

"I didn't think it mattered," Kim replied, sounding rather perplexed again. "You never minded before. He doesn't cause any extra work or anything."

"I don't think you understand what we're saying," Mrs Possible said.

"Where has he been sleeping?" Mr Possible put in, a recognisable edge coming into his voice.

"In my bed, of course. What, do you think I'm going to force him to sleep on the floor?" Then Kim laughed, "Even though he'd be able to, he can fall asleep anywhere, I swear!"

But her parents didn't pick up on the joke, seeing how neither of them laughed and instead exchanged another knowing look that Kim wasn't in on.

"I don't understand," Kim stated.

"We understand that you and Ron have been friends for a long time—"

"Not just a long time," Kim added, "Since preschool."

"Exactly. We also understand that you were very upset about what happened in October to December."

"You mean his coma…"

"Yes," Mr Possible nodded.

Mr Possible nodded as well. "We remembered what you did when you he awoke…"

_The kiss…_ Kim flushed with embarrassment.

"Of course… it's… _natural_ for you and Ron to… after such a horrible time in your friendship…" Again Mrs Possible exchanged a look with her husband, arching her eyebrows. She looked back at her daughter.

"What?" Kim piped up. "You don't think… Oh! Mom! Dad! W-we… we're not—"

"No!"

"No, no!"

"Good heavens, no!"

"No, trust me," Mr Possible's tone was ominous. "If we thought that was going on…"

"Dad… Mom, what are you guys talking about then?"

"To feel feelings towards one another and…" Mr Possible sighed, obvious she was still uncertain how to go about explaining her thoughts.

"We think you and Ronald should slow things down," Mrs Possible said finally. "He's been spending the night…"

"In your _bed_," Mr Possible interrupted.

"And… we think you should value your friendship, you don't want to ruin anything by accident, do you, Kimmie? We understand the two of you would want to… 'experiment'… after what happened with his coma, test your boundaries but—"

"What!" Kim squawked, almost jumping out of her seat in start. "Is that what you think? You can't be _serious_! This isn't some silly game Ron and I are playing." She looked from her Father to her Mother but neither of their expressions seemed convinced. "What's… what's going on between me and Ron…" she began to blush furiously about discussing her blooming relationship with Ron in front of her parents. "It's _serious_, okay?"

"You're only teenagers—"

"No! Don't," Kim stood up and crossed her arms. "We're not 'playing house' or whatever the two of you are thinking. Maybe you just have to understand that maybe I _like_ Ron," (by now, her entire face was masked in red blush) "And that maybe he _really_ likes me back!"

"Kimmie, we understand that. But dating and—"

"We're not '_dating_'!" The term was almost offensive. "We're just… we're… we're _together_ okay?"

"You don't understand what we're talking about," Mr Possible replied. "We're giving you advice about your friendship—"

"That's still important and intact, thank-you! Maybe the two of you just can't accept the fact that Ron and I are no longer in preschool!" And with that, Kim stamped out of the room, up her stairs and into her bedroom.

Mrs Possible sighed, leaning back on the sofa. "That went well."

"I think it's Ronald's turn," was Mr Possible's response.

Mrs Possible arched her eyebrows in response.

-ø-

"I think you missed a spot there, buddy," Ron called to Rufus, inclining his head towards a plate on the dish rack.

"Ahuh, got it!" Rufus replied as he whipped the plate again with the now damp towel.

"Thanks," Ron replied airily as he scrubbed another dish in the sink. With his parents upstairs in their studies, Ron was in the kitchen, washing the dishes complete with bright yellow rubber gloves while Rufus helped to dry.

"Almost done, then after this we can finish with the vacuuming…" Ron said as he blew some low hanging bangs from his face.

"Uh-oh, the noise!" Rufus chattered looking anxious.

"Oh, well… they know I gotta do it to-night anyway so whatever," Ron shrugged. He sniffed while trying to scratch his face with his arm since his gloved hands were wet and soapy.

"Then after that is… Oh, hey, is that the doorbell?"

Ron stopped clanging around in the sink with the dishes, forks and spoons and perked his ears waiting to hear the alleged doorbell.

_Ding-dong!_

"Ronald, I need you to answer that!" Mr Stoppable's voice came from the upper story.

"I'm getting it!" Ron called back and shook his hands over the sink in an attempt to dry them. "C'mon, Rufus." Rufus leapt from the counter and onto his shoulder where he rode with Ron to the front door.

"I wonder who's calling so late…" Ron mumbled. When he peeked through the peep hole, he was very shocked, but unlocked the door anyway. "Kim!"

"Hey, Ron," Kim nodded. Yes, it was very much Kim standing on Ron's front doorstep in her turquoise t-shirt and baggy brown pants. After taking in Ron's appearance, she stifled a snort slash giggle. "Or should I say Ronderella?"

Ron scowled, looking down at his pink frilly apron. "Doing housework, it isn't mine," he snorted back.

"Noooo… no, no. The pink… it's, uh… very… It goes great with your blonde hair," and she presented him with a thumbs up.

"Right, right, haha," Ron replied sarcastically and opened the door wider so Kim could step inside. "So what are you doing over? You, uh, you don't really come over to my place. Ever. Is everything okay? Oh… don't tell me we have a mission…"

"No, no we don't. And, uh, yea, sure, everything's ok," Kim nodded in response without even looking at Ron. She walked inside his house and eyed the décor then finally spotted the vacuum cleaner still out in the living room.

"I didn't know you did chores," Kim replied.

Ron shut and locked the door behind her and followed after her slowly. "Well who else is gonna do it?"

"Oh, um… I dunno…" she shrugged and blushed. Changing the subject, she brought up the point of her visit. "Oh, hey, is it okay if I stay the night at your place? Like a sleep-over?"

"Wha? M-my place? You wanna sleep over at _my_ place?"

"You stay at my place all the time."

"Yea, no, I didn't mean… well, okay. Um, actually, I gotta ask my parents first."

"Oh?"

"Yea," Ron flustered, he walked back into the kitchen and Kim followed. Reaching the sink, Ron pulled off the gloves and untied his apron, hanging it on one of the chairs. "Lemme go ask first, I'll be right back."

Kim shrugged, "Okay. Wait!" she called out again to Ron's back.

"H'm?"

"Do you, uh… you have everything under control now right? Your monkey power, I mean. Because Wade said it should have worn off last night or this morning… is that right?"

Ron stared at her for a few moments then said abruptly: "Yea! Yea, Wade's right, he's always right."

"Good!" Kim smiled in relief, "Because, if you didn't, maybe I shouldn't…"

"You should! You should stay. It'd be great to, um, have company. I'd like that."

As usual, Kim blushed easily and Ron turned his back on her to leave for upstairs. What she didn't see was the grimace Ron had one his face as he marched up the stairs.

He hated doing it, but he had just lied to Kim. He wasn't sure where Wade had gotten his information from but it was dead wrong. It wasn't that Ron wanted to deceive Kim intentionally but, to put it simply: it was lonely being at home by himself. Like he had said to Kim, she hardly ever came over to his house, let alone spend time here. Then to have her _sleep-over_? To have Kim stay with him, Ron would struggle _so_ hard at any length to keep his Mystical Monkey Power down.

But a different problem was now making itself present. Ron didn't particularly favour bothering his parents especially when last he spoke to them, they had specifically told him to leave them alone and to be as quiet as he could while doing the assigned chores for that evening. Instead of turning right towards his bedroom, Ron headed left and to the room at the end of the hall on his left. Cautiously, Ron rapped softly on the door and waited until a voice called for him to come inside.

"Hi, Dad," Ron said as he slipped inside, closing the door behind him.

His Father was sitting at his study desk while typing on the computer's keyboard. He turned around to face his son and returned the greetings. "What brings you here?" he asked.

"Um," Ron coughed, clearing his throat, feeling nervous. "I was wondering if my friend Kim could stay the night? She's downstairs right now."

"Well, that's fine with me," Mr Stoppable responded, already turning towards the computer again. "But ask your Mother's permission as well."

"Oh. Okay."

Mr Stoppable nodded and began typing at the computer again signalling for Ron to take his leave.

"Thanks," Ron said as he slid out of the room again and shut the door softly behind him. Backtracking, Ron turned to the door before his Father's study and knocked softly once again. He was forced to wait a little longer than when he had knocked at his Father's door but soon he heard his Mother's voice calling him inside.

"Hi, Mom," Ron said, standing just in front of the closed door behind him.

Like his Father, Ron's Mother was seated at a desk. She was amidst piles of paperwork and was in the middle of writing speedily. She didn't respond right away nor did she look up. Silently, Ron waited.

"Yes, what is it?" she asked finally, pushing her glasses up further her face. "Have you finished your chores?"

"Uh, no," Ron replied, his voice wavering. Before his Mrs Stoppable could scold him, he added quickly, "I'm almost done; I'm still working on them."

"You're to finish them to-night, Ronald," she replied.

Ron noticed that she was about to lower her head to her work again when he decided to blurt it out. "I was wondering if Kim could, li- … could have a sleep-over here to-night. We'll be real quiet, I promise."

This earned Mrs Stoppable's attention. She looked at Ron long and hard as she thought, all the while Ron felt himself slowly shrinking as he gazed back at his Mother.

"Dad already said yes," he added hastily.

"Alright," she sighed and a small smile swept Ron's face. "But I want you to finish your chores first. _And_," she lifted her pen just as Ron was about to leave the room. "I want the both of you to keep it quiet, the deadline for these is Tuesday and if I don't get it done—"

"Okay, I promise, I'll let her know, no big." Ron turned the knob and was almost gone before he hesitated and looked back at his Mother already engrossed in her work once again.

"Thanks, Mom," he said. Mrs Stoppable lifted her head and looked at her son. "Thanks for letting KP stay. I, um, really appreciate it, it really makes me happy."

Ron didn't notice the startled look on his Mother's face. "I'm glad I could make you happy."

Ron gave her smile before leaving the room and leaving his Mother alone amidst a pile of paperwork left only with a guilty expression.

"Kim!" Ron declared as he scuttled down the carpeted stairs and into the sitting room where Kim stood with a duster in hand and was actively dusting the television area. "W-what are you doing?"

"Helping you with your chores," Kim replied. "Rufus and I finished the dishes for you. Rufus told me it was dusting next on your list. At least, I'm pretty sure that's what he was saying." She turned to look at Rufus who gave her a little clawed thumbs-up; he was even wearing a cloth mask over his mouth to protect him from all the dust Kim was awakening. She coughed into her fist, "Don't see why he's the only one who gets a mask," she muttered.

"You don't have to help me, y'know," Ron said, stepping forwards and gently taking the duster from Kim's hand in case she put up a fight. "I can do my own chores."

"Yes, but it'll go by faster if I help and I don't plan to stay up _all_ night doing housework, do you?"

"Well, no…" Ron muttered, twirling the duster in his hands. "But I don't need your pity!" he huffed.

A snort blew from Kim's nose as she recoiled with an incredulous look. "I'm not pitying you, Ron. Chill out. I'm just _helping_ is that a crime?"

"No…"

"Because if it is, then I'm the biggest criminal in the world!" Kim grinned, pointing at herself with both hands. "Now gimme that duster and you grab that vacuum cleaner. We've got some housework to finish!"

Hours went by and both exhausted from the housework that had been completed a little over an hour ago, Kim and Ron were seated with Rufus on the sitting room's chesterfield watching the ending of some late night flick. The ending credits were rolling when Kim stretched and yawned, reawakening Ron from his coma-like stupor at the other end of the sofa.

"Where's your clock? What's the time?" Kim asked. "Let's head up to your room now, maybe watch a movie up there."

Ron sniffed, stretching out his back. "Are we gonna be pulling an all nighter or something?" he asked sorely.

"Sure, why not? It's Saturday, does it really matter?"

"Well to those of us who like our sleep…" Ron muttered as he hauled himself up and picked up Rufus who had already fallen asleep before the night had even begun.

Kim gave him no response as she made her own way to his bedroom and Ron followed with a slight limp since his foot had just fallen asleep as well.

"I need to borrow something of yours," Kim commented as she flicked on the light in Ron's room.

Yawning, Ron closed the door behind him and flicked on his lava lamp. "Go ahead?" Then, "What for?" Ron strode across his room, placing Rufus in his little sock bed inside of one of his old shoes on top of his bedside drawer.

"I don't have anything to sleep in," she replied.

"Oh," Ron ambled over to Kim who was going through his closet. "Well I've got… I dunno, I've got stuff," and he dragged his sleeping foot over his drawer where his pyjamas were kept.

Pulling out his blue pair, he turned around to see Kim pulling out his t-shirts and measuring them against herself to see how long they came.

"I thought you didn't like my clothes," Ron spoke up with a smirk. "I thought you said they expired in 55 B.C."

"Yes, well," Kim added a false wounded tone to her voice. "Desperate times…"

"That one's from Smarty-Mart, y'know."

He grinned, all teeth, as he watched Kim shiver violently and stuff the shirt back on the rack.

"It's not fair," Kim complained, shuffling through all the shirts. "You only have a few from Club Banana and they're not long enough!"

Ron was about to remark that it didn't matter when he realised that was _not_ the correct answer and he rather liked the minimal brain cells that he had inside his head and did not plan on falling into another coma anytime soon.

Instead he mocked Kim, " 'Desperate times'…"

"Yea, yea, okay." Kim snorted and pulled out his familiar red jersey with the navy blue sleeves. "Now go change in the bathroom or something and knock before you come in."

"But… my leg has fallen asleep and I don't believe I can move from this very spot!" Ron cast a hand over his forehead overdramatically.

"Oh no you don't!" Kim growled. She tossed his shirt onto the bed and flew at him, trying to push him out of the room while Ron attempted to stay rooted to the spot.

"Nope… my leg weighs as much as lead! Can't move, KP…"

"Then if they weigh as much as lead you won't mind me stepping on them!"

"_Ouch!_ Hey! Hey, hey-hey, hey!" Ron shouted as Kim continued to shove Ron closer to the door. "FYI, my foot _really_ did fall asleep!"

"SHHH!"

Kim and Ron both froze.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you that you can stay on terms that we keep it quiet," Ron added in a hushed voice.

"You're the one that shouted, not me," Kim replied in a whisper and shut the door in his face.

Ron rubbed his nose as he headed towards the bathroom, pyjamas in hand. "Foot really was asleep…" he grumbled to himself.

As he walked into the bathroom and began to change, he wondered what led Kim to stay at his house for the night. If ever there was sleep-overing to be done, it was Ron always over at _Kim's_ house. Ron had put on his pyjama bottoms and was about to slip on his shirt when he leaned against the bathroom door in thought. In all of their years of friendship, Kim had barely been over at his house. He had to admit, it made him feel slightly uncomfortable, especially to have Kim over when his parents were home.

Constraining his monkey powers had been the ultimate strain while doing house chores earlier. And truthfully, he did have a slip on more than one occasion yet for some miraculous reason, Kim hadn't seen. She had either had her back to him, bent down, or conveniently blinked. That and the only thing stopping him from bounding up the stairs to his room behind Kim was his sleeping foot. It really hit him just then when he realised Kim would only be wearing his top as a night gown and… share his bed too! His bed wasn't as big as Kim's and…

_Oh man, maybe this wasn't a good idea after all!_

Buttoning up his shirt, he left the bathroom and was about to just walk right into his bedroom when he remembered to knock.

"Come in," Kim called from within.

Shutting the door behind him, Ron noticed Kim's clothes were folded neatly on his desk chair. Kim was already in his bed, under the sheets with his television remote in hand.

"It's _so_ cool that you have TV in your room. _And_ you can just lie in bed and watch!"

"Yea," he nodded, walking forwards, "Lucky me. I get the window space," he added and stepped onto his bed and over Kim so he was between her and the wall. He shuffled around a bit, trying to find a comfortable position (_Also gives her space to flee just in case…_). "Sorry my bed isn't as big as yours. You sure you don't wanna have this night-fiesta at your place as usual instead?"

He didn't notice Kim's eyebrows raise. "_So_ sure," she said. "There's nothing on TV. What movie should we watch?"

"No contest," Ron replied. "Violent Reaction II!"

"Not while I'm in this bed," Kim retorted.

"Oh, would you like me to move you to the floor instead?" Ron playfully attempted to push Kim off the bed and she fought back, trying to resist, letting out a small shriek of unexpected fright.

"Ron!"

"QUIET."

For the second time Kim and Ron froze. Ron edged back to his nestled space on the bed, "Um, what movie do you want to watch?" he asked in a whisper.

"Let's see what you have," Kim pulled herself up and shuffled on her knees to Ron's DVD shelf.

Ron sucked in his breath and told his eyes to look at the extremely fascinating leaf on the tree outside his window instead of Kim's bare legs. _That's right_, he told himself not to think, _she's just wearing my top and… and well, yea… _

Ron Stoppable did _not_ blush easily.

"Okay, your collection isn't much to choose from," Kim concluded.

"What d'you mean? I've got all the Violent Reaction movies, all the Bricks of Fury and—"

"Yea, that's nice if you're a _guy_," Kim interrupted. "I really don't feel like seeing a Zombie flick, so um… well…" she skimmed the titles again. "Alright, I give in. Violent Reaction it is. The first one though, I haven't seen that one since we saw it in the theatre."

"Alright, that one's great," Ron replied.

Kim rolled her eyes and pulled the movie out from the shelf and placed the disc into the player. Lying back again, she slipped her bare legs back underneath the cover, he felt them hit his underneath.

"Skip the previews," Ron said and folded his arms behind his head.

"Okay, okay…"

Nestling her head into the pillow, Kim prepared herself for around two hours of combusting cars, shoot-outs and exploding sidewalks.

_Oh, this is going to be stimulating…_

To say Kim's interest in the film was waning would be a _huge_ understatement. She couldn't believe the movie still had over half an hour left and the mobster's hide-out _still_ hadn't been blown to pieces yet because, if memory served her, there were still four more main mobster spots after that one to implode in a billowing plume of fire.

Her head tilted towards Ron (who was, by the way, very wrapped up in the film), her eyes began to wander from the television set. Taking a break from the movie before she returned to her eyes being swallowed in the constant yellow and red glare, she gave a small stretch, Kim cast a look around Ron's room.

Then the idea came to her, it was a perfect opportunity to approach him about _it_.

Glancing at Ron, she watched him: laid back against the backboard of the bed, half of the pillow behind his head, his attention solely on the television, a slight smile on his face. After making sure his attention was absorbed on the movie, Kim's eyes flickered to his bedside drawer. Sticking her tongue out, she carefully shifted herself closer to the edge of the bed and allowed one hand to snake open the drawer and fish, quietly, for the inside contents. Feeling it in her grasp, she gently closed the drawer and held the tin in her hand underneath the sheets.

"Ron," she said.

"H'm?" Ron asked, his eyes darting from the television to Kim. They darted back one last time to the TV before resting on Kim. "Yea?"

Kim took in a deep sigh, "We've got to talk."

At those words, she noticed his eyes fly open at that statement. "W-we do?"

Kim nodded sombrely. "About this," she withdrew her hand from underneath the covers and showed Ron the tin she held.

Before Kim could say anything more, Ron's jaw dropped and he fidgeted with apparent agitation, she studied this reaction carefully. His brow furrowing, Ron pushed himself up so he sat beside her, gaining a height leverage which he perhaps used to gain some inner strength.

"You went in my drawer!"

"Yup."

"_Why?_ When! I told you not to! _Kim_! Why don't you listen when I tell you not to do something?"

Kim could only roll her eyes, "Ron, it's a good thing I did!" She rattled the tin; through the silence between them they could hear the contents inside clatter.

"It's not what you think!" Ron blurted out and made to snatch out for the tin. Kim could have easily evaded his swiping hand if she wanted to, but she had no need to hang on to the tin and if it gave him a little comfort, then all the better. With the tin sandwiched between his palms and held at a far distance from Kim like a precious treasure, he glared coldly at her; it made her shiver. But she wasn't going to give up just because he was going all moody/broody on her.

"Oh really? Then tell me what I'm thinking."

"I… what do you think it is?"

A smirk slipped onto Kim's face and then quickly fell. "Let's just say I saw the word inside and did a little online research. And I went on a little… field trip."

"Field trip?"

"The swimming pool."

Ron was speechless as it all connected and dawned on him. His expression was positively wilting with anxiety and Kim began to feel a surge of compassion and sympathy towards the boy.

"So this is why you wanted to stay at my place to-night…"

"That's not true, but… Ron," Kim began, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Why didn't you ever tell me you had a problem?"

Ron appeared nervous. Kim even caught him shifting nervously from side to side but otherwise kept quiet. It was a long pause before he tilted his head and she recognised that familiar confused look in his face.

"I don't understand," he replied. And to Kim, she received the impression that he really _didn't_ understand the big deal.

"Don't… understand…?" Kim continued. "Ron, I researched these pills on the internet, okay?" And _still_ Ron looked innocent. Yet how could he be when he totally panicked when she had shown the pills to him? "Ron, I know you're bulimic."

And _again_ Ron looked confused. In fact, was that… yes, it was a _smile_ crossing his face. Kim felt her jaw beginning to drop when he again said, "I don't understand what you mean, KP."

Kim sat straight now, staring stonily into Ron's eyes. "Oh, so you're gonna play that game with me, huh?"

"Kim, we were having a good time, can we just drop it?"

"No! We can't! Don't try to distract me, I know you purge after you eat."

"I don't—"

"Aah!" Kim held up a finger to silence Ron, apparently he seemed more amused by this. _Not amused because he thinks it's funny_, Kim corrected herself, _amused because he's totally dumb to what I'm going on about._ Typical Ron. "Ron, you eat a whole lot at Bueno Nacho (I can't _believe_ I didn't pick up on that even when you sat right across from me!). Now do you deny that?"

"No," Ron replied, that look of ignorant bliss on his face.

"Do you deny that after you eat a whole lot, that you vomit it all up?"

Silence. Ron flushed and tried to look away but Kim's scrutinising eyes brought them back to her. "No," he replied softly, "I don't."

"Don't what?"

"Don't deny it."

Kim's eyes widened slightly. That was easier than she thought. They were already at the step of admittance, that had to be something. "Okay. So. You admit you're bulimic."

"I don't—"

"It's the word one uses to describe a person who binges and purges like you just admitted to."

"Oh," Ron replied, looking thoughtful again. "Oh," he conceded.

"That's all you have to say?"

"I didn't know there was a word for what I did."

"Well. There is." Kim paused a moment as she evaluated Ron. For one of the rare times in his life, Ron was showing a hint of embarrassment, although you had to search to find it. Mostly he was looking confused with a sprinkle of annoyance. "You don't even know you have a problem, do you, Ron? You don't even know what you're doing is wrong."

"What?" he asked, shaking his glazed eyes away. "What are you talking about?" Then he laughed, "Didju just say a 'problem'?" He chuckled again, "I think you're totally blowing this out of proportion, KP."

"Exc-"

"I mean, sure, it's kinda gross if you think about it. But I wouldn't call it a 'problem'," and he laughed again, actually delighted at the notion that Kim thought it was problem.

"Oh, Ron…" Kim tossed her head back trying to think quickly.

"Lots of people do it," Ron added.

"Like who?" Kim asked sullenly, still trying to think of what next to say to Ron.

Ron recoiled slightly, his eyes darted and instead muttered, "I dunno. Some people, I guess."

"Ron, I'm telling you… what you do… bulimia, it _is_ a big deal." The look on Ron's face told her he still was, by no means, believing her. For all it mattered to Ron, she could be telling him Rufus was purple, or Drakken was a woman.

"Who says?" Ron countered, still appearing amused.

"Tchah, lots of people, that's who. Like, doctors and stuff. Because, because it destroys your body and… and… and why _do_ you do it anyway?" she asked. As she had been recalling the 'who', Kim also began to remember the 'why'.

Ron looked away while shaking his head. "You don't need to know that."

"I think I do."

"Well, it's my ish, so I can choose whether or not to tell you!" he huffed back.

" 'Ish'?" she countered heatedly. " 'Issue'?"

"Not a _problem_!" Ron fired back, "You're, like, totally making a big deal out of this just because you think it's gross!"

"Then what about the doctors? What about people they take into homes to treat?"

"What?" Ron pulled back, looking slightly hurt. "What are you talking about?"

Kim wasn't sure if it was the right tactic or not, but maybe scaring him into believing her might work. "They take people who have bulimia and anorexia into homes, you know? To treat them, and they don't let them see their family or… or their friends," she eyed him heavily, making sure he understood what she meant by that. "Not until they're cured."

"Are you threatening me?" he practically laughed.

"I'm telling you what could happen."

"You can't do that to me! They can't… just… just because this is how I deal with… that's stupid!"

"It's true!"

"Well you don't have the power to do that kind of thing."

"That reminds me, how did you get this prescribed to you, Ron?"

"Huh?"

"Your medicine is prescribed. So a doctor knows about your problem?" Ron's eyes flashed at that word but Kim ignored that and leaned back in thought. "If you don't believe you have a problem, then you obviously wouldn't have gone to see a doctor… Someone must have taken you…"

"I haven't been to a doctor about this! That's stupid too. Why would I need to go see a doctor just because I make myself puke after I eat, huh? Like, what can he do about it? There's nothing to fix."

"Then why do you have this medicine?" Kim returned harshly.

Ron fell silent. "I don't know…"

"Oh c'mon—"

"I said I _don't know_!"

Kim shut her mouth. She stared long and hard at Ron. "You… really don't know why you're taking these are you?"

"I… I just know I'm supposed to take them, okay? I know they're for what I do, but that's it. Honest." Ron shrunk back from Kim.

"Who gave them to you?"

Again Ron shook his head.

"_Does_ someone give them to you?"

Ron only defiantly shook his head, downright refusing to offer any more information.

Kim sighed, "Ron, I'm trying to _help_ you here and you're not telling me anything!"

"I don't _need_ help, Kimorz. There's no need for help cos there's nothing wrong. I just _don't_ get _why_ you think it is a prob cos—"

"Ugh, yes there is!"

Without giving any sort of warning, Kim leapt at Ron and he was forcibly knocked backwards. He struggled in a feeble attempt to push Kim off, she had to admit that keeping him down actually took more than a fair bit of effort. He grunted as his muscles strained under his skin to sit up and heave Kim off, he wasn't looking at her, but his brows were narrowed and it was plain to see he was actually _angry_; a rare emotion seen in Ron. Even with some help of his Mystical Monkey Power, its focus was not on aiding Ron at the moment so with Kim's determination and world-saving strength to back her up, he was at a loss. Kim sat on top of him and yanked apart the buttons on his pyjama shirt to reveal his heaving bare chest.

Kim once again found herself speechless as she stared down at Ron's rising and lowering stomach. With him lying down, Kim could see how his weight fell downwards and his stomach visually dipped inwards. Frightfully fascinated, Kim reached out placed a hand on his stomach, immediately he shuddered underneath her touch but she ignored this. She was able to run her fingers around Ron's stomach, feeling where it slopped, feeling his thinness, not only seeing it with her own eyes like when they were at the swimming pool.

All the times she had seen Ron shirtless, even when she had observed him showering did it never _really_ hit her how dauntingly thin he was. Now that it really hit her did the fraught take hold of her.

While Kim continued to stare with horrific appeal, skimming her hand up and down his bare stomach, Ron laid still, as if it would pain him to move. As he lay still, he laid his head back, eyes tightly shut and his teeth gritted, they even chattered twice while she touched him and preoccupied herself with her thoughts. He shivered involuntarily from time to time, Kim was too focused on her thoughts and sights to realise that Ron was at that moment fiercely holding a power back. With everything he had, he fought to retain control over his heightened Mystical Monkey Power for Kim's sake. It was a battle he was slowly losing.

"I can't believe this…" Kim finally murmured more to herself than to Ron. "It _never_ dawned on me before! Even after-" she cut herself off not wanting to bring up the shower-scene in front of Ron when their hands had been attached. She might have begun to blush if she weren't so preoccupied by once again studying his features.

Finally she looked at Ron and with a clear note of desperation in her voice and beseeched: "Why, Ron? _Why_?"

Ron's mouth suddenly ran dry. Breathing heavily, still restraining the power like a pitbull on a twine leash, he attempted a small smile, "C'mon, KP, it's no big."

"Then why do you have this medicine to help you? _Why_ won't you tell me?"

Ron was pained to see Kim so obviously grief stricken. Her voice so distraught… But then that power within him. It too recognised her grief and saw it has a weakness, a perfect time to take advantage of, as it saw, 'innocent, unknowing female'—one that also had a sprinkle of estranged monkey power scent left over from the monkey-king amulet she once wore.

Gritting his teeth, Ron struggled to smile and reached out for Kim's hands which were both still placed upon his stomach. With them both in his hands, he bounced them lightly up and down in his. "Kim, I'm fine now remember? The malaria's gone, I'm ok! Let's just watch the movie or somethin'." _And._ _Get._ _Off. Before I lose it entirely!_

Yet Kim mutinously shook her head and Ron was startled to hear Kim begin to choke as if she was about to cry (although she didn't). Yes, she was deeply affected by this and inside Ron began to feel guilty.

"No, Ron," Kim insisted, taking a hand out of Ron's to rub the corners of her dry eyes. "It's not ok, it's from before the malaria, you didn't know you had that. You've done this puking stuff all along and you still haven't told me _why_!" she sobbed.

"Oh, oh, hey, Kim, don't get all upset 'n stuff," Ron spoke out softly. The fact that she was now showing more vulnerability was _not_ helping. To protect her, he wanted to shove her off and lock her in the bathroom then lock himself in his own room. He bit his lower lip, feeling the power rumble and leap inside him. He felt his eyes wanting to glaze over and he touched his lip with his tongue, staring at her. She didn't see; she was again rubbing her eyes.

He was losing the fight, he knew it. It was still the beginning of Spring and the Mystical Monkey Power was up and prime inside him. Taking her hand in his once again, he tried to smile at her and was about to lead her off of him when instead she nestled on top of him, unable to fight it, he let her head rest upon his chest. "Hey, Kim, let's just…" Ron slipped his arms around her and nuzzled her hair, "Let's just _chillax_, mmkay?"

Kim lay still for awhile, but she soon lifted herself higher, shifting herself so she was more beside Ron than on top of him; still Ron kept his arms around her, now that they were around her, he couldn't let go, and she didn't fight them either. "But why won't you tell me, Ron? We're _best friends_ we always talk about anything and everything, why won't you tell me this? You know everything about me, _everything_. Why in all these years haven't you told me about this thing of yours? I don't understand, what's there to be ashamed of?"

"Not ashamed," Ron said a little too rudely. "Kim," he brushed some hair out of her face tenderly, feeling the power slip over him rather than a gigantic leap like he had been expecting. All the time it had been creeping its way over Ron, wrapping him in its fervent desire. "Let's talk about this later, ok?" Ron pressed his nose against hers and kissed her gently on her cheek.

"I want to talk about it _now_." Kim's voice was soft and low as she lay close to Ron, her hands brought up between them. "Just… at least tell me why… I want to understand…"

Ron's response was leaning in, kissing her on the cheek and bringing her closer to him. Gently, affectionately, he nuzzled Kim's cheek with his own in an attempt to slip her into a similar mood as he. He'd rather she go it with him rather than the Mystical Monkey Power springing up taking her by force with he just a vessel to satisfy what it desired.

Kim sighed, she didn't want to be like this now. Her fiery side wanted to rebuke Ron and insist on continuing the conversation regarding his health. But unfortunately for her, she was already starting to give in to Ron's advances; he was kissing her softly, repeatedly, on her cheek. Kim's eyes lowered, still thinking but slowly drifting off into that other dilatory mood Ron obviously wanted her in.

It had been so long since she and Ron had been this close together, not since the day their friendship and been shredded to pieces had they been like this. And back then it had been their first time, still new in this way to one another.

She wanted to… To Kim this felt like the first real time, like the other times on the sofa and the bed hadn't counted. This time was different because they had really grown and established something firm between them in all the time that had flown by since then. At least to Kim, since she was really the only one who maintained any memories from the confrontation inside his mind when he had been in the coma.

Yes, she wanted to, but she also knew Ron was trying to swerve her mind off the topic of his bulimia. She didn't want to give into the ploy. She didn't want Ron to think he had successfully tricked her, that's what her pride said. But she couldn't help herself, she longed for him for so long now… and finally they were together and alone.

While Kim was mentally battling with herself, Ron again nuzzled her lovingly and lowered his head to kiss her neck; she shivered.

Ron pulled back, looking at Kim; she knew he was waiting for approval. His mild, tender brown eyes eventually won Kim over and she leaned forwards, pushing him onto his back as she pressed her lips against his. Ron gasped softly underneath her but eagerly kissed her in return.

His arms slipped around her waist and Kim shifted herself higher, placing a bare leg over him underneath the comforters. When she did this, she knew she was beginning to drive him insane, her in nothing but her undergarments and his very own shirt, for he rolled over so she was now on her back, his own leg over her and pressed himself closely, pushing his tongue into her mouth.

Pulling him close, Kim wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Breaking free from his mouth, she brushed her face against his and Ron sighed heavily in her ear, both of them content with the other.

With one hand on the side of his face, she brought him back to her mouth again and they kissed continually. With each kiss they dealt, they found themselves growing less tender and more lustful.

Neither of them at any clue of how far they were going to go, all they knew was what they wanted, at that moment, as their blood soared inside, they took it.

Ron was in the process of gorging on Kim's neck when Kim felt his hand come to rest on her upper inner thigh… Kim caught her bearings and flew apart from Ron, pushing him back with her hand on his chest. Both of them paused for a moment to catch their breath before Kim confronted Ron.

"What were you doing?" she asked, her voice didn't seem to have decided how to react yet, it was half a demand, half fright.

Ron looked _extremely_ shocked and even more frightened than Kim. It was like he had lost himself completely. He blinked rapidly, like coming out of a stupor, frowned, then panic issuing, he stammered on his reply. "I-I…I wasn't… I mean, like… I... I'm sorry!" he blurted out, colour rising to his cheeks, he quickly scampered off Kim and curled into a ball beside her looking quite upset and disturbed.

Kim rolled over to face Ron, she didn't really know what to say. "You weren't… gonna…"

"I don't know," Ron replied, deflated. "I didn't wanna do something you didn't want to do. It wasn't even…"

Then a horrid thought came to Kim. "Ron! Y-you… I thought you said you had all of that under control! This isn't your monkey—""

"No! And I do!" Ron lied, "I just… that… that was me. I'm sorry."

She would believe him. Kim supposed he had been lost in the moment and forgot himself, giving in to his speeding hormones. Kim almost had as well, but she was glad she stopped him. Now, Ron was clearly shocked at his own self for what he did and it was better that he was mulling it over now than the next morning when there could be nothing to be done about their actions.

"Look, Ron …" her frustration at trying to speak her thoughts agitated herself. "I can't go that far, ok, Ron?"

"Ok."

"I can't… and…"

"Right, ok, I got ya," Ron nodded. "Y-you don't wanna go that far… with… me… ok. Kinda weird, right? Me being… like, _me_ 'n everything."

"No! Ugh, Ron, no," Kim elaborated, "Not because it's _you_ but because… You should know that by now! Well," she really didn't want to mention her conversation with her parents with Ron. Quite possibly it could frighten him, especially with the looming mental image of what Mr Possible would do to him. So instead she said, "We're kinda young for that, don't you think?"

"Sure."

To Kim, Ron didn't sound convinced. Maybe she _should_ elaborate… just a little more. "And… my parents… I didn't have a happy conversation with them before I came here."

Ron's eyes lit up, they bore into her own and she felt the weight of guilt now. "You mean you ran away?"

Kim gritted her teeth wincing, "I wouldn't go so far as to call it 'running away'… I'd call it more, like… my parents thinking I'm upstairs in my room when I really snuck out the window." Already Ron was sending her a reprimanding look.

"Kim, I can't believe that! Shouldn't you, like, phone your parents and tell them where you are? Cos, like… if your parents find out they're going to kill… _me_!"

"Gee, thanks for your concern about what they'll do to me," she retorted. "No, I won't let that happen, they'll know it's all my idea."

Ron snorted in disbelief.

"If they know," she added. "I don't… intend on telling them." Ron was still unconvinced, he was shaking his head and Kim understood he was disappointed in her. That hurt her inside, didn't he understand she didn't run away to escape her parents but instead to be with him? "But, Ron, it's just for to-night! I'll go back early to-morrow and they won't know I've been here. Ron… don't look at me like that! I, um, I missed you."

Ron looked back at Kim, a small smile spreading across his face. "Missed me..?"

"Yes," Kim replied softly, bringing her face close to his, "I've been thinking a lot about you lately."

"Heh, me too. Er, I mean about you. Not me."

Kim giggled, slipping her arm around Ron's waist and snuggled close to him. "So don't worry about it, ok? I'm not, like, angry with you. I just didn't know what you were thinking, (if you were,) so I thought I had better interrupt just in case."

"Sure about that?"

"Yes. There's nothing 'weird' about being with you…"

"So… maybe some day…"

"But not to-day."

"I'm fine with that."

Kim thought about what her parents had said to her. In fact… she thought, it was a good thing they had said what they had to her. If they hadn't spoken to her, Kim might have carried on with whatever was going to happen, (if something would have). Then Kim wouldn't have had the conscience of her parents trusting her riding inside her so fresh. She had remembered what they told her, even if she disagreed with them about Ron only being an 'experiment'. She was seventeen for goodness sakes! She was past experimentation with guys, that was something that would have occurred in their earlier teens or preteens. Not now. Not with all she and Ron had been through, Kim knew her feelings for Ron were genuine.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on that anymore. If she was forced to push away her wanting conversation about Ron his bulimia, the she'd push away these thoughts too. Right now, she wanted to continue what had been interrupted with Ron, but only to a certain degree that they both understood.

Ron still didn't look as if he had regained all of his confidence. But such was Ron, always dwelling and moody when something upset him yet Kim knew of a way to distract him from his upsets.

Kim pressed herself close against Ron and kissed him hard and eagerly. She felt Ron ease up and fall into her gift. Wrapping his arms around her, Kim slid herself on top of him, falling into his tender touches and enveloping kisses, allowing their hormones to override their senses into the night…

-ø-

The sound bothered Ron and he frowned, stirring slightly out of his sleep but kept his eyes shut.

_What a headache_, Ron grumbled to himself, stirring as the ringing sound never ceased. _Didn't even do anything last night and yet there's this ringing in my head. _Ron tightened his eyes and gave a low moan. The sound never left though, instead of Ron willing himself back to sleep, he found that the ringing was slowly bringing him awake. He didn't appreciate that.

In fact, since Ron had no choice in listening to the sound, the ringing seemed to stop and start. Then stop. And then start again. The inconsistency nettled Ron so much that he finally gave in and ventured an open eye and thus a clearer mind. It then came to him that the ringing wasn't just in his head. It was his telephone.

"Aah," Ron said simply to no-one and reached for his red phone next to him on the bedside table. As he picked it up and pressed the button to answer it, Ron wondered who on Earth could be phoning him. Not even this early in the day (Ron actually had no idea what time it was and only presumed it to be early by the weariness of his body). The only person who phoned him was Kim and last time he checked, she had been with him.

"'Ello?" Ron asked into the receiver, stifling a yawn. _Yup, she's still here_. He looked down at Kim sleeping on her stomach, her hair messy and thrown across her face and her closeness to him sent a thrill inside Ron. It caused him to smile a little smugly to himself.

"Ronald?"

Ron perked up at the mention of his full name. "Mr Dr P?" he asked, incredulous. "Uh, what's up..?"

"Kim isn't upstairs in her room, she hasn't told us if she went anywhere this morning so we're assuming she went to your house, are we right?" Ron shifted uncomfortably.

_How'd they assume that? We could be on a mission!_ No, he didn't feel guilty, he had nothing to feel guilty about! It was just the tone Mr Possible was using with Ron that unsettled him. A tone that made Ron _feel_ as if he had done something guilty-worthy.

"Yea, she's here," Ron tried to reply in what he hoped was an assuring tone and not a nervous one. "KP crashed the night here, she's still sleeping actually. Didja want me to wake her or something? Didja wanna speak to her?"

Before Mr Possible could respond there was another voice in the background at the other end. Ron couldn't make out any words, but he was positive that it was Mrs Possible. Mr Possible must have either covered the phone with a hand or placed it further away from himself for he responded to his wife, but his voice was distant.

"No, that's fine," Mrs Possible's voice said into the receiver. She must have taken the phone from her husband. "As long as she's alright and with you, that's fine. But let her know to come home when she's awake, alright? Would you do that for us, Ron?"

"Yea, of course!" Ron replied, more cheerfully. Talking with Mrs Possible was always less nerve-wracking, he liked how she made him feel at ease. "I'll do that."

There was some more converse in the background when Mr Possible spoke out. Again, Ron couldn't really catch anything but didn't think it to be good (for him). No… wait… he did catch: "I'm not going to ask Ron that, we can ask Kimmie when she comes home" from Kim's Mother; Ron grimaced.

"Thank-you, Ron," Mrs Possible returned.

"Uh, you're welcome. Bye."

"Good-bye."

Ron hung up the phone and looked back down at Kim next to him. How lucky was he to have Kim asleep in _his_ bed? And in _his_ t-shirt? How delightful to think that last night he had been worried about his Mystical Monkey Power, what had he been thinking? Even if they _hadn't_ had done anything last night, just having her next to him, Ron still felt a sense of fulfilment inside.

Was all that he went through in Fall worth this? Well, he wasn't sure if he would live through it again but if it had been the only to be like this with Kim, then he would definitely suffer through it again if forced to.

_But I won't have to_, he thought and ventured a bold hand out to pat Kim's red hair, her face on its side within _his_ blue pillow. _Cos_ _everything's gonna be A-okay from here on in, even if she did find out about my pills. We can easily sort that out. _

It wasn't all that he was amazed about either. He was also very shocked, but pleasantly so, at how he had held back his Mystical Monkey Power last night. That was a _huge_ relief. He had to admit, when Kim had stated last night that she intended to stay the night at his house, he had been more than slightly panicked. After all, Ron still hadn't forgotten about the sudden seize the power had on him back in Kim's room the day before.

Stretching, Ron sat up and decided to wash-up in the in the bathroom. As he was rebuttoning his pyjama shirt, Rufus in his shoe on the dresser yawned and awoke too.

"Augh, let's clean that breath of yours, huh?" he whispered to his pet, wrinkling his nose.

Rufus chattered angrily at Ron for that comment.

"I'm just kidding," Ron replied, rolling his eyes. Stretching out his hand, he allowed Rufus to climb up his arm as he led him out of the room and into the bathroom next door.

Walking inside and up to the mirror, Ron looked at himself through groggy eyes. Squinting, he leaned in and gazed at his reflection while tsking under his breath. "Aww, c'mon, Rufus!" Ron rubbed at one of many scratch marks around his shoulders and shoulder blades. "You gotta quit scratching when you climb around up here or I'm gonna have to clip your nails down to ground zero, ok?"

Rufus, sitting on the sink rim, reaching for his toothbrush, looked up at his owner. "Aww, sorry!" he mumbled and tried to evade his owner's critical glare.

Continuing to tsk, Ron picked up his toothbrush and fought with Rufus over first dibs over the toothpaste.

After the battle and brushing his teeth, Ron had _just_ been spitting out the toothpaste when he heard Kim call out from his bedroom:

"Ron, where are you? Ron!"

Distressed, Ron spat more toothpaste out into the sink and almost slipped on the tiled floor as he fled the bathroom and into his bedroom. Rufus barely had time to leap onto his shoulder.

"Shhh, shhh!" he said frantically, waving his hands up and down, indicating for her to keep her voice down. "My parents are _sleeping_, don't wake 'em! Is everything okay!"

"Oh, there you are," Kim replied drowsily. "I thought you left me or something." She laid back down, her head on Ron's pillow and closed her eyes, an arm cast over her head.

Ron snorted, "And where would I go? It is _my_ house."

"I dunno, maybe my place?"

Ron laughed, "I'm not sure if that was a shot or not."

Kim rolled over onto her stomach and stretched. "So what time is it?"

"Um, like, I dunno. Oh, but that reminds me." Ron closed the door behind him and sat on the edge of his bed next to Kim. "So much for your parents not finding out; they phoned just awhile ago."

Kim's eyes opened and she peered at Ron over her arm. "Did they?"

"Yea."

"Well what'd they say?"

"They kinda want you home… sorta… sorta, like, now, actually."

Kim winced, "So you told them I was here?"

"Of course, they didn't know where you were! Why, is that a bad thing?" Ron tilted his head at Kim in confusion.

Again Kim winced but kept a faltering smile on her face to reassure Ron. "That's fine, Ron. Don't want them to worry, right?"

"Right!" Ron smiled back looking happy once more. "Cos they're not gonna be mad. There's nothing wrong with you having a sleep-over at my place…"

"Augh, so I guess that means I have to leave now," Kim stretched again and pulled herself up and rubbed her messy hair. "I'm so way past sore and tired. Okay, get out of the room now so I can change."

"Alright, alright," Ron retorted and walked over to his closet and picked out his white t-shirt with the black sleeves and a pair of pants.

"And be sure to knock before you come back in," Kim added as Ron rolled his eyes, shutting the bedroom door behind.

Just as he had closed the door behind him, he ran right into his Mother coming up from downstairs.

"Oh! Mom, hi! G-good morning."

Mrs Stoppable raised his eyes at him, "I suppose for you it is."

"Um, how… how do you mean?"

"You made an awful lot of noise last night, that's what I mean."

Ron flushed as he remembered the accidental shouts and cries, having his foot being stepped upon and then the fight to push Kim off the bed. "Oh… I'm sorry. It was an accident."

Ron didn't miss his Mother's eyes stroll with annoyance away from Ron.

"It shouldn't happen again. Maybe you should take it to _her_ house next time."

"It won't. Okay, I'm sorry."

Without any further response, she walked off and headed into her study room. Ron sighed with relief that the conversation had been that brief. Just in case his Mother had anything else to add, Ron slipped into the bathroom to change.

When he returned to his room (not before knocking first, of course), he found Kim dressed and sitting on his bed waiting for his return. The way she was just… sitting there… sitting neatly on his bed, with her hands folded on her lap and staring directly at him made Ron's eyes dart suspiciously to his drawer and back to Kim again; that smile looked a little _too_ innocent. But on reflecting, he wasn't sure why he was freaking, she already knew what was in there. Perhaps she'd bring the conversation up again…

"Thanks for letting me crash at your place," she said instead.

"Oh, that was no big, KP."

A wave of unnerving silence passed between the two, although it was only Ron who felt it.

She walked past him and instinctively Ron followed her as they headed down to the living room. Ron opened the door for her and she stopped in the doorway to turn and talk to him.

"I'll phone you later to-night," Kim said

Ron's eyes lit up, "Wha? Uh, I thought I was going to your place now…"

Kim's lit up as well, "Um... better not. I think my parents will want to speak to me first…"

"Oh… cos, like… what was up with that? You just said you kinda ran away. Is, like, everything okay? Your Dad didn't seem too happy when I spoke to him on the phone either…"

Kim blushed, "No," she muttered to herself, "I don't suppose he was." To Ron she said: "I said don't worry about it, so not the drama. Just a little tiff."

"But you _ran away_—_I_ don't run away."

"I thought I told you to word it as 'I came to visit you', mmkay?"

Ron rolled his eyes, "I'm not that dumb, KP…"

"I never said you were."

Ron recoiled slightly at the serious tone of her voice. He had been sarcastic…

"Well, okay…" Ron mumbled, "But phone me sometime to-day, okay? I'm not done my homework and, um, I might need a lil' bit o'help…"

Kim laughed pleasantly. "Sure, Ron. Don't be afraid to call me!"

"Or be—"

"_And_," Kim continued raising a quelling eyebrow at him, becoming serious once again. "We'll talk about your little problem later. Right now, the parents are calling me."

" 'Little proble'… Kim!" Ron huffed, catching on. "I thought we decided to drop this last night?"

"No we just got distracted," she smirked. However Ron did not return the sentiments. "Look, I know you're serious about it, and you know what? So am I. I'm _so_ serious on this, Ron. But look, I _really_ gotta go. See ya later."

Remaining silent, Ron held his head back coldly as he watched Kim walk down his steps and then down the sidewalk, waving to him cheerfully.

However, Ron did not wave back.


	12. In Which Kim Has a Secret of Her Own

Author's Note:

**Huge thanks to my reviewers because reviewers are loved best of all:** momike, LJ Fan, John Steppenwolf, Zaratan, Cold-Chaos,JPMod, Masau, Deyinel, Rachel Lupin, techgeekster, happyendingsmaybe, Jak4, BrattyBrina, Ezbok58a, pheonia, Stoppable-san, conan98002, thsunami, mattb3671, losery7, Ace Ian Combat, The Infernal, Aeetos, Tariq, Rufus 986, continental-line, Kari, Gryfffinrose, eViLrEadEr, Char and, of course, Loo (MY FORTUNE TO-DAY READ: "10,000 KR BABIES" AND I AM STILL WAITING FOR THE TRUCK TO APPEAR ON MY FRONT DOOR ))))): No rondrugs for you unless you can deliver me said kr babies by to-morrow morning. And I will be counting each and everyone so I'll know if you ripped me off.).

-A.King

* * *

¤ Instalment 12 »» _In Which Kim Has a Secret of Her Own _¤ 

I hear the doorbell ring and suddenly panic takes me

The sound so ominously tearing through the silence

I cannot move, I'm standing

Numb and frozen

Among the things I love so dearly

-ABBA, _'The Visitors'_

* * *

Yesterday when Kim had returned home from her night tour at Ron's house, she had been greeted by two stony-faced parents and one simple word: GROUNDED. It wasn't so much that they had a problem with her sleeping over at Ron's house (or so they said), it was more the 'sneaking out of the house and not telling us' part that connected Kim to the big G. It was a good thing she hadn't invited Ron right over or he might have been torn to pieces by her Father. Kim had sat on the sofa while her parents lectured her for what felt like hours, it hadn't had helped that Jim and Tim were hiding in the kitchen and their constant giggling grinded on Kim's nerves. 

"Two whole weeks!" Kim declared to Ron at lunch hour on Monday. "Two weeks for sneaking out of the house, that isn't fair at all."

"You could have told 'em you were coming to my place or left them a note," Ron suggested, taking another bite of the cardboard caf pizza; his second.

"Ron," she moaned, "You don't understand. We kind of had an argument and well… it didn't work in your favour."

"What?" Ron asked, startled. "Me? What'd I do? A-are your parents mad at me?"

"Nooo," Kim groaned, slumping her head onto the cafeteria table. "Don't worry about it, Ron."

Ron didn't look convinced, but merely shrugged and returned to his pizza. Kim continued to lay dead on the table for a few more minutes. Finally, after watching Ron for a awhile, over her arm, she spoke up again.

"Which number is that now?"

"Huh?"

"That pizza," she made a feeble attempt to point at the pizza with her head in the form of a lifeless flop. "How many have you had?"

Ron looked at his pizza to thinking it over. "My fourth now."

"I think you should stop."

"Lemme just finish this one," Ron replied and munched more on the pizza.

_That was easy_, she thought. "Okay, so what's after Lunch again? I didn't get much sleep last night."

"History, I think." Finished with his pizza, Ron licked any remains from his fingers and leaned back in his chair regarding Kim. "Are you dying or something?"

"Probably," she groaned back.

"How come you get to die before History class and I don't?"

"Well, next time you sneak out of your house to pay me a nightly visit and you get grounded, it can be your turn to die a painful death."

"Is that an invite?" he perked up.

Another moan issued from Kim and she decided it was time to lift herself up. She stretched and stood up with her cafeteria tray. "Let's just head to class."

Ron nodded and picked up his own tray and tossed away the garbage and stacked the tray onto the stack onto of the disposal bin. Walking leisurely alongside Kim out of the cafeteria with his hands in his pockets, Ron said: "Too bad you can't go to Bueno Nacho or the mall after school."

"Tell me something I don't know," Kim replied morosely.

"Can I still come over?"

"Probably not."

"But… but…"

"We can still phone or IM each other," Kim said indifferently. Reaching her locker, she pulled out her History textbook. "Don't worry, my parents aren't as cruel as to not let me help you with your homework anymore," she smirked.

Ron was instantly relieved, "Whew! Good, cos you really had me worried there!"

"Gee, thanks," Kim replied sarcastically. "Thanks for actually missing hanging with _me_."

"Oh, yea, there's that too," said Ron, off-handed. But he grinned at her as he said this indicating his joke.

"At least I can still do cheer practice, now _that_ would be cruel if I had to skip that. Nationals are in May! I can't _believe_ we qualified. I mean, we _so_ have to bring home a trophy for Middleton High, especially since it's our graduating year. No really, how stunning would that be?"

"At least _you_ qualified," Ron moaned, "I won't be able to come with you guys this time."

"Oh, Ron, that's not your fault!" Kim replied. She shut her locker and patted Ron on the back. Both remembered how he had been ill because of his malaria and had fallen into a coma before he had been able to perform for the mascot division. "And you _will_ come. I'll make sure of that."

"Thanks, KP."

Together, Kim and Ron headed to the other side of the school where their History classroom was. As they walked taking their time, Kim talked to Ron of this and that, but mainly of how unfair her parents were being by grounding her.

All was going well, or at least Kim thought until they had settled themselves into their seats in History class. She had been waiting for the final bell to ring, when Ron spoke up.

Looking slightly bemused, he stood up rather quickly and announced: "Uh, I think I left my textbook in my locker, I better go get it."

"What?" Kim declared, "_Still_? Ron is this something else we're going to have to work on you? Your memory skills?"

Ron laughed nervously and scooped up his backpack, "I'll see ya in a few, KP."

Kim glanced at the clock and reached forwards, still in her seat and latched onto Ron's backpack. "No you don't! Ron, the bell's going to ring any moment now, do you _want_ a detention?"

"Kim, let go!" Ron hissed, trying to keep quiet and not cause a scene. He tugged against her, but she only tugged back refusing to release him.

"Sit back _down_," she hissed in return. "You can share mine!"

"No, I… I really have to get mine…" and he fought against her holding him back.

"But I don't _mind_!" Kim shot back and yanked him back, but he fought forwards as she tugged him— and with one mighty tug of frustration, she pulled on Ron once again right as he attempted to throw himself forwards when…

… Ron's bag burst open and all the contents inside spilt onto the classroom floor in a clatter.

"No! _Kim_!" Ron wailed and immediately dropped to his feet to quickly shove his contents back into his bag.

"I'm sorry!" Kim kneeled on the floor to help Ron pick up his binders and textbooks, "Really, Ron, you could just borrow mine, you do—"

She froze. In her hands was Ron's blue History textbook.

"Ron."

Ron was also rigid.

"You… uh… your textbook was in here the whole time. I… I guess…"

"Oh. Um. Guess I forgot. I had it with me the whole time, hehehe…"

"Yea," Kim replied, her voice intransigent and yet nervous with suspicion at the same time. "I guess you did. How silly of you."

"Real silly of me." Ron reached out, his hand in front of Kim waiting for her to hand over his textbook. He stared at her, but she wasn't even looking at him. Kim was intently staring down at his blue textbook as if it were whispering scandalous secrets to her.

"Just like the green textbook too."

Ron swallowed anxiously, "G-green textbook?"

"Chemistry. I remember seeing it in your bag before Lunch and then you forgot it must have been in your backpack the whole time. Back in September. I remember that."

"O-oh. I, er, I must have. I, um… I do that a lot…"

"You do."

Kim finally raised her head and looked directly into Ron's brown eyes shimmering with fear. "Except that… you didn't forget, did you?"

"Kim…"

Kim dropped his school textbook onto the ground with revulsion. She lowered his voice so no-one else would overhear: "When you 'forget your textbooks' you go to purge your Lunch, _don't you_?"

Ron was in the process of rolling his eyes when Kim stood up abruptly and whipped around back into her seat. She hadn't even waited for him to answer—Kim was already leaning her head over her open binder and began flipping through her own textbook.

Furrowing his brow, Ron shuffled the books back into his backpack and stood up, slinging his pack over his shoulder. He stood, staring at Kim who was refusing to look back at him. With her head in her palm and turned from him, Ron could only observe the back of Kim, writing silently in her notebook. Even if he couldn't see her expression, the silence between them said more than any expression Kim could have sent him.

Finally, Ron raised his head to the clock, the bell really was going to ring soon, if he went now, he'd surely come back late for class. And yet… at the same time he didn't want Kim to win this battle. But then, looking at her now, was… was he actually feeling guilty? He hated how she could do that to him.

"I'm still going," he stated and left the classroom.

Kim didn't turned her head to him, didn't even stop her writing to indicate to Ron that she heard him. Instead, when Ron had already vanished, she scrunched her eyes tightly and felt a wave a despair wash over her.

-ø-

It had been brutal torture, one of the worst times in Kim's entire life (well… comparing it to the whole hand-holding/coma sitch, maybe it was a little of an over statement) but two weeks had _finally_, _miraculously_, passed by and Kim was free of being grounded. It had been absolutely killer when she had found out from Monique one day at school that Club Banana had had a buy one, get the other _half off_ sale _and_ had the new Spring styles in (after a belated shipment).

So that's where Kim had dragged Ron right after cheer practice on Monday. He had followed Kim grudgingly to the Middleton Mall where he leaned back and watched Kim flutter like a butterfly in a happy-meadow with rainbows and unicorns to the new selection of clothes. Of course, Ron was curious though not as much as Kim. It was something else that had been aggravating him.

During those two weeks Kim had been relentless in pursuing Ron's 'problem', as she called it. To Ron, those two weeks felt more like two years and although Kim pretended everything was alright and that it was only Ron's poor attitude about his bulimia, Ron felt like he and Kim were distancing. He didn't want another rift in their friendship again and normally Ron would have given in to Kim if it would make her stop pestering him, but this was something he would stand his ground on. To Ron, there _was_ no problem.

It had been at Lunch, like most lunches now, that he and Kim had had another one of their squabbles about how much he ate and how Ron had to stop 'forgetting his textbooks in his locker'. Ron had not let the issue go since and was making sure Kim knew it when she asked for some extra money on a dark denim skirt she desired.

"No."

"But Ron!" Kim appealed desperately. "This is the _last_ pair in my size and this stock has already been out for a full week!"

Ron shrugged. "I don't have the money," he lied.

"Yes you do! You always have money. _Please_?"

Ron shook his head and defiantly looked in the other direction.

"Ron…"

"What?"

Ron turned around to look back at Kim, rounding on her with a cold look when he froze. "Oh, hey, c'mon, that's _so_ not fair!"

Blinking her green eyes round and soft, Kim slightly pushed out her bottom lip and gave Ron one of the most pitiful (and dangerous) looks in her arsenal: The Puppy Dog Pout.

"No. No, no no. You don't deserve it!"

"Deserve?" Kim asked, her voice sounding hurt as she kept the pout. "Please… _please_, Ron?" Kim swayed herself slightly from side to side and played a little with Ron's hand and kept staring at him with those lethally endearing eyes. "Spoil me."

Ron growled, "Okay, okay, _fine_. Fine. Okay, fine." Groaning, Ron stalked forwards towards the cashier counter and pulled out his wallet as Kim bounced happily after him with her skirt. "But you had so better remember this," he added but Kim was too busy admiring her new skirt.

"Fifty-eight seventy-five," the cashier said after ringing up the skirt and began folding it into a bag.

"How much are you putting in?" Ron asked as he fished in his wallet for some bills.

Kim's cheeks flushed and refused to look at Ron as she pulled out… a five dollar bill.

"That's it!" Ron yelped, "That's all you have?"

"I was grounded! Remember?"

"Tchach, whatever," Ron growled again and pulled out the fifty-eight seventy-five from his own wallet and handed it over to the cashier.

"Oh, thanks, Ron!"

"Yea, I better get something out of this, that's all."

The cashier handed the bag to Ron who handed it over to Kim and the two left Club Banana. Ron noticed that Kim was walking closer to him than she had when they had walked over to the mall. "Well you can think of a list and we'll see."

Ron raised his eyebrows and eyed her now looping an arm around his own. "I can think of a few things," he muttered, a grin crossing his face for the first time since before Lunch.

"Bueno Nacho! Bueno Nacho!" Rufus hailed from inside Ron's pocket, now poking his head out.

"You stay back in there buddy, don't bet on the mall forgetting about your little fiasco." Ron retorted to his pet, mentioning the time Rufus became loose on the mall during Kim and Ron's hand attachment.

"Are we heading back to your place?" Ron asked Kim.

"MmH'mm," Kim nodded, swinging her bag from side to side. "We do have to-day's homework to do. Oh and, uh, there's still my birthday at the end of the month, don't forget."

Ron rolled his eyes and sighed. "Alas, my poor wallet…"

Ron was surprised to have Kim giggle next to him and touch the side of his head with hers. It made him smile, banishing his sour attitude and became all grinning and full of Ronshine as the two enjoyed their walk back to Kim's house.

Of course, they hadn't enjoyed the homework. But somehow they had endured _all_ of it with Kim's persistency and eventually the textbooks and binders were closed until to-morrow. It was night now and there was still some time left before Ron would leave for home. So because it was Monday night, Kim and Ron sat back on the chesterfield in the sitting room and watched _American Starmaker_. They were the only ones in the sitting room, the Tweebs and Kim's parents elsewhere, so they didn't have to share their bowl of popcorn with anyone else (except Rufus).

"I swear that chick can't sing," Ron stated as the show went for a commercial break and Ron stuffed his face with another mouthful of popcorn.

"Oh, lay off, Ron," Kim shrugged, cramming in a mouthful of her own. "She's just a little shaky around the high notes…" and she went in for two more handfuls of popcorn.

"All I'm saying is the judge says it all."

"Angh ahm shaying he shtill creeps me oucht," Kim replied through a large mouthful of popcorn. She swallowed, "He's too nasty. But you just wait when—"

"Oh, no, not _that_ pretty boy, don't tell me you fall for him too!" Ron declared, popcorn in his hand waiting to be eaten.

Kim blushed, "C'mon, Ron. He has a great singing voice! You can't deny that." More popcorn was stuffed into her mouth.

And into Ron's, but he swallowed before speaking. "Huh, yes I can! He's a total fraud! I mean, did you see how he winked at the camera in his song last week? It was _so_ aimed at the fan girls to earn him more votes, pfft. Tastes like corn to me."

Kim rolled her eyes but continued to smile all the same. "Well, if he pulls it off again this week, I'll be voting for him."

That cued Ron to roll his eyes as he reached for more popcorn but Kim picked up the bowl that had been sitting in between them and placed it on her other side, away from Ron, then took some for herself.

"Um, hey. Share?" Ron asked and tried to reach over Kim.

But she batted his hand away and shook her head. "I think that's about enough popcorn for you, Ron."

"Excuse me?"

"I said that's enough for you, I think you've had quite enough for to-night."

"Could you, like, _stop_ doing that!" Ron blurted out abruptly, rounding on Kim. "I can take as much popcorn as I want, okay?"

"Not with me around! How do I know you're not going to go back home and barf it all up? If you don't have enough in your stomach, you won't do it."

"Hello, that's not for you to decide! If that's what I wanna do, then I'll do it!"

Kim glared at him, "If I'm going to be your friend, then it had better be my business too!"

"That isn't fair! This just…" Ron was now standing up and looking rather hostile. "It's not fair, you went into my drawer without permission and then you found this out and now you won't leave me alone! What did I do to deserve this? Look, I just… I want you to quit it okay? Just…" Ron seethed with emotion and whispered, deadly serious, "_Drop it_."

"No," Kim replied firmly, locking her own blazing eyes with his rebelliously.

Scowling, Ron shook his head. "This sucks."

"You better believe it does! You think I _like_ worrying about you and what you do? You think I _like_ worrying late at night and thinking if your stomach has finally caved in or if you hacking up blood because a purge went wrong?"

"That can't happen!" Ron snorted back, "You're not gonna scare me outta this. This… you're worrying about _nothing_. I've been doing it for years and nothing's happened!"

"Years!"

"Yes. Years."

Kim stared up at him from her seat on the sofa, her legs crossed. "How many years now?"

"What does it matter? Like, three or something. Why do you have to make a make deal out of this?"

"Because, as I keep telling you, it _is_ big deal! You don't think I'm tired of having this conversation with you over and over!" Kim lifted herself, resting a knee on the sofa, challenging Ron. "Every freaking time I try to help you, you get all huffy back at me and I don't think I li—"

"I think I'm entitled to rebuking you, KP! I don't have to do whatever you tell me to do."

Kim fell silent; briefly, her eyes darted to her charm bracelet she still wore. Inwardly, she admitted to herself that she forgot herself and he was more than right.

"I think you're being stupid about this whole thing," he muttered back, shoulders hunched. "You always have to blow things out of proportion—"

"No, that's _you_!" Kim couldn't help but retort.

Ron narrowed his eyes at her. "Yea, so what happened in autumn was me blowing things out of proportion?"

"Don't you dare… this has _nothing_ to do with what happened between us back then. I just… everything was going along great since Christmas until you had to make such a fuss—"

"No, until _you_ had to make a fuss," Ron corrected and turned his back on her. "You're _always_ the one ruining our friendship, it's, like, you…"

"NO." Kim threw herself to a standing position and glared at the back of Ron's head. Her eyes were now rearing wildfires. "Don't you even _dare_ try that old routine. Autumn _was_ my fault. Partly yours too. But don't you_ dare_ try to use me jumping to conclusions and lessons learnt and all that kind of garbage as an excuse for you being in denial."

"There's nothing to be in denial about!"

"Then that proves that you don't understand and if you'd just _listen_ to me I can hel—"

It was then that Ron turned and dashed up the stairs to the second floor. Gasping, Kim flew after Ron in a speedy chase to beat him to the bathroom where she knew he was headed. Growling, Kim pushed with her hands off the floor as she bounded up the stairs, taking three at a time in sprints after Ron who was scrambling as fast as he could. But despite Ron's skinniness, he was still, as always, slower than the lightning-fast Kim and she caught up with him on the second floor just outside the bathroom by grabbing him by the back of his red and blue sweatshirt.

Ron yelped as he was pulled backwards despite his struggle to push on forwards; even as the two fell to the floor and Kim struggled to pin Ron down, he strained against her, still attempting to make inches towards the bathroom door.

_This is just like when his monkey powers were trying to get it all on with me weeks ago!_ Kim thought sarcastically.

At least this time, Ron's Mystical Monkey Powers weren't kicking in so it was far easier to hold Ron down.

Finally, he let out a wailed-whine when he realised he wasn't going anywhere and became instantly lifeless in his defeat. Kim had him on his stomach, his arms that had been reached for the tiled bathroom floor pinned to the ground, her knee pinning him in the back.

Kim panted, regaining air, expecting Ron to make another unsuspecting throw for the door but a minute passed and Ron still did not move.

"What just happened is ridiculous," Kim finally managed to say. Ron twitched. "I can..." (she panted) "_Not_ believe you're letting something this stupid come between us. I mean, _look_ at us." Ron opened an eye. "I'm pinning you to the _floor_ to stop you as if you're some nutso villain! Why do you think I'd persist with this if it wasn't something truly important, huh? Are you even listening to anything I say!"

Kim wasn't even sure if she meant that to be rhetorical or not but she paused for air in any case and, again, Ron did not respond.

"_Are you listening to me!_"

"_Yes!_" Ron cried back, flinching underneath.

Kim froze and stared down at Ron. The drastic look in his eyes… no… She recognised it. But this situation was _not_ the same as her jumping to conclusions back in autumn.

"Ron, get a grip," Kim spat, struggling to keep her voice steady and calm when it was in imminent danger of unleashing her current emotions. "Don't you dare compare this to the hand-holding sitch. This is _so_ not the same."

"Oh no?" Ron interrupted, again trying to twist his head to face Kim. "And how would you know? I—"

"I _know_, Ron." Kim said this in the most serious and stern voice she had, the emotion just bubbling underneath a _very_ thin layer. He had _no_ clue whatsoever of how he much he had affected her back in his mind, nor how much it _still_ affected her. "Don't you dare _ever_ say I don't know, do you hear me?" Ron said nothing. Gritting her teeth, Kim pushed hard against Ron's back and shouted: "_DO YOU!"_

Ron gasped and instantly lost any bravery. "I do."

It suddenly dawned on Kim how emotional she was being and she forced herself to swallow it all down. "Good."

"But I still don't have to agree with you."

It felt like a knife in her back. Now was Kim's turn to gasp softly and, underneath her, Ron began to push himself up and she pulled off and sat next to him, allowing him to sit up.

"Is everything alright out here?" Mrs Possible opened the bedroom door and Mr Possible opened the door from his study, both of Kim's parents peered out into the hallway looking bewildered.

"I heard some shouting," Kim's Father added.

"Oh, no," Kim tried to smile but looked more embarrassed than anything else. She waved both her hands and laughed nervously. "Everything's fine! Ron just fell. Right, Ron?"

"Of course."

"Oh, does he need an ice pack?" Mrs Possible offered, taking a further step outside the door.

"Um, no, thanks," Ron mumbled.

"Well, alright. As long as you're okay, I was worried there for a moment when I heard the shouts," Mrs Possible nodded, then retreated back into the bedroom.

Mr Possible on the other hand gave the two a lingering look before going back to his study.

Kim gave a sigh of relief then turned to face Ron, perhaps maybe thank him for not blowing the cover. But when she turned to face him… he was gone. Kim blinked twice then faced the bathroom door. It was closed.

It took Kim a _lot_ of effort to hold in that monstrous growl she had itching to be released from her throat. It also took a lot of constraint for her not to literally kick the bathroom door in.

"_Augh_," Kim muttered instead and with clenched fists, she raced back down the stairs and threw herself onto the sofa.

Kim sat, hunched up and brooding on the chesterfield and picked up the bowl of popcorn to which she proceeded to stuff the half a bowl of popcorn left into her mouth. She didn't think on anything particular, her mind was flurried with anger geared towards the sitch, not necessarily at Ron. After all, as she kept reminding herself over and over, Ron really didn't understand that upchucking what you ate equalled bad. But what to do if he wouldn't even _listen_?

Growling with infuriation, Kim forced more of the popcorn down her mouth and without even realising it, she finished off the whole bowl by herself. Still not realising what she was doing, she was currently picking at the small pieces at the bottom when Ron came walking down the stairs.

Kim's eyes slid towards him as she watched him approach her.

"I'm going home now," he said, his voice sounding awkwardly mechanical. "I'll see you to-morrow morning then."

Kim didn't know what to say. She was rather afraid that if she opened her mouth, she'd spew words that forgot the little bracelet dangling around her wrist. She just nodded grumpily, turning back to the popcorn bowl and dabbed her finger at the bottom, licking the small, salty pieces off her fingers.

Kim shook her head as she licked her fingers. "You know, Ron. You may feel like it's the epilogue of the hand-holding thing all over again, but maybe you just don't want to admit that after all that when I was so wrong, that I might actually be _right_ here."

Before Kim could add anything else to that comment, Ron spoke and what he said felt like a blow to the face: "Or maybe I don't like being bossed around by a _girl_."

Kim froze, her tongue still pressed to her finger and her eyes stretched wide at Ron to what he had just dared to say to her. "E-_excuse me_?"

"I said maybe I don't wanna just do whatever a girl tells me to! You know, I don't have to listen to you, I'm a _dude_; you shouldn't be yelling at _me_! Y-y'know… I…Most guys would have put you in your place."

Kim's jaw slid open, she honestly didn't know how to react to that.

With one last glare, Ron walked out her front door.

As soon as he shut the door behind him, Kim lifted her head to the empty room. Softly, she padded across the living room and to the door where she stood on the tips of her toes and peered out the peep hole to watch Ron disappear down the street.

Once he was gone, Kim leaned against the door in thought. She honestly could _not_ believe what Ron had said to her. But although she was _not_ at all in approval of with what he had said to her, she understood where it came from. That's not what their argument was about and he knew it. For Ron, it was all a flashback to the pre-coma. That comment was just some lame attempt of Ron's at bravado.

Kim _knew_ she was in the right about this, but to Ron, after all the damage that had happened with her misunderstandings of him, he just couldn't comprehend mentally that he was wrong this time and she _wasn't_ jumping to conclusions again, could he?

If that's the way Ron felt, then she couldn't help but feel that Ron just left the house in a similar feeling to how he left her house last year in September, when their hands had detached. Trying to hold back the insecure feelings, Kim crossed her arms and decided to make herself another bag of popcorn.

At dinner time, Kim didn't speak much for her mind was still dwelling on her argument with Ron earlier that day. She wasn't guilt tripping, nor was she feeling pity for Ron. Instead, all while she had finished off that second bag of popcorn, Kim had been struggling to work out a plan. A plan on how to go convincing Ron she was right this time. But every idea she attempted, she always saw Ron as either laughing her off or going moody on her.

Kim picked at her second helpings, poking at one of the peas with her fork as she contemplated what to do.

"Kimmie, is everything okay?"

"Huh?" Kim looked up to see her Father looking at her (Mrs Possible was currently reprimanding the boys for sneaking food into plastic bags for who-knows what kinds of experiments). "Yea, no, I'm just thinking, that's all. School projects, exams and stuff."

"That's right," Mr Possible nodded. "Final exams are coming at the end of the school year. Have you considered what schools you're going to in September?"

"Huh?"

"You _are_ planning to continue in September, aren't you?" That familiar rumbling tone was apparent in his voice.

"Of course, no big, Dad." _I'm supposed to deal with this Ron-thing, homework, studying _and_ picking schools next years? Not to mention the whole saving the world thing and… and _cheer practice Kim put on a false grin, "Just going over some notes in my head."

"That's my girl," Mr Possible grinned back. "Remember, Kimmie, 'Anything's—"

"—possible for a Possible'," Kim finished, "I know, Dad, I know."

After Kim finished dinner, Kim told her parents she was going upstairs for some study time and raided the kitchen for a few snacks to bring with her. Leaving the Tweebs to watch that evening's episode of Fear Tower, Kim headed for her loft bedroom.

Dumping the bag of chips on her bed, Kim changed into her purple pyjamas then heaved her school bag onto the bed and began hauling out the textbooks and binders.

Kim hadn't been working for very long when her telephone rang. Perking up from the Computer Science exercise, Kim finished chewing her chip before reaching over for the phone. However, before she turned it on, she glanced at the caller ID and saw Ron's name. Sucking in her breath, Kim answered the phone.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Hi."

Silence.

"Well you phoned me, so what's up?" Kim prodded.

"I…" Ron stuttered. "I wanted to call and say… say…. Say I'm sorry. About earlier to-day. I'm sorry."

Kim sat up, instantly more attentive than she was previously, in fact, she almost spilled the bag of chips onto the floor with her textbook. "Oh?" _Finally_, Ron understood! Maybe…. _Maybe when he left my house and flashbacked to when he left my house back in September, it made him think. Maybe he's realised that after what happened in autumn and the coma, that it's silly to argue about something like this… that I really do care for him and… and that he's ready to accept my help… !_

… _Okay, so now what?_

"T-that's great, Ron," Kim said, smiling from ear to ear. She decided not to make a huge deal out of it just in case it frightened Ron and he decided to change his mind. "That's _really_ great."

"Yea, okay. So, um, can I come over?" Ron asked, his voice sullen and soft. "Can I stay the night?"

"Oh, uh…" Kim choked on her words. His request was a little shocking but then, Ron really had finally given in and if he needed comfort about this issue then she would be there for him no matter what hour of the night. "Sure," she conceded, "Of course you can."

"Cool. Rufus 'n I will be there in a few."

"I look forward to it."

She heard a light snort of air on the other end that sounded similar to a 'heh' (probably coupled with a smile, Kim imagined) and hung up. Smiling to herself, Kim couldn't help but feel slightly proud at what she had accomplished.

"Ohmigosh!"

It suddenly hit her, Ron was coming over in just a couple of minutes and… and to talk about his issue and… and she had absolutely no idea how to go about _how_ to help him!

_Ohhhh, I should have read up on this!_ Kim felt like slapping herself. All she knew was that it equalled BAD and that Ron should STOP but what else? Certainly it wasn't something he could drop instantly, right? She was no therapist, no doctor…. And yet… and yet she didn't what help from any of those types of people. Or_ anyone_ for that matter. She wanted to help Ron herself.

Quickly, Kim reached for the Kimmunicator and stuffed some chips into her mouth as she turned it on and began browsing the web for some useful websites.

"Nrggg…" She wasn't coming across much, for to-night at least it looked like she was going to have to follow her instincts. She found a couple of hotlines, but again, Kim wanted advice on how to help Ron, not for other people to help Ron.

Kim leaned back against her bed board and thought hard. Then the idea of asking (or telling rather) her parents if Ron could stay over came to her mind. They usually didn't mind if Ron slept over, but then that last conversation last month came to mind _and_ there was that whole 'two weeks grounded' thing. Kim pushed herself off the bed and was about to head downstairs when she heard knocking coming from… her window!

Kim whipped around expecting to see Shego or something when she recoiled to see _Ron!_ He waved at her from outside the window and Kim fled to open the window and allowed him inside.

"What the!" Kim asked perplexed as Ron (with Rufus) crawled into her room. Aggravated, Kim stuck her face out the window looking for a ladder or something that showed Ron had climbed up to her bedroom… on the _third_ floor. There was no sign. "What the, how did you… oh, never mind. Must be a Monkey Power… thing." Kim shut the window.

"Thanks for letting me crash at your place, KP," Ron stuttered, seating himself on her bed. He and Rufus immediately homed in on the bag of chips and together began nosing their way through the bag. "Ew, ranch, couldn't you have gotten nachos or something? You knew we were coming."

Kim snorted, "Maybe they're not _for_ you," Kim walked past him, swiped the bag out of his hands and walked to the other side of the bed, flopped down and munched on the chips.

But that didn't deter Ron or Rufus, Ron slid his hand stealthily into the bag of chips that Kim was hugging close and shared a handful with Rufus. After he had finished chewing, Ron mentioned he had brought his school bag for to-morrow morning.

"What about your pyjamas or a change of clothes?" Kim asked.

"Oh. Forgot about that."

Kim rolled her eyes, "Typical man."

"Doing homework?" Ron asked, observing the textbook mess all over Kim's bed.

"Yes, but that can take a back seat."

Kim was too busy fishing into the bag of chips to notice the mischievous grin crossing Ron's face. "Oh? Yea?" She also didn't notice how Ron had slinked several inches closer to her.

Kim only nodded and licked the flavour from her fingers and placed the bag of chips on the floor. "So… Did you want to discuss it now? I know it's late but if you're willing to now, I'll stay up all night if I have to."

"Huh?" Ron pulled back and blinked in confusion. "Discuss what? I just wanted to say I was sorry."

"Um… okay… so… talk about it to-morrow then?"

Ron's voice became slightly irritable. "Talk about what, KP?"

"About your condition."

Instantly Ron spluttered. " 'Condition'! KP," and he said almost with a snarl, "I was calling to say sorry about what I _said_. I'm sorry I said I could slap you if I wanted to. I can't believe you're still going on about this! I… you… this just…"

"Oh," Kim sighed. "Wait, you never said 'slap'. …"

"Oh."

Kim sent him a cold glare and crossed her arms. "I can't believe this. I thought you came over to talk about it… What did you come over for then? You _said_ sorry on the phone."

Ron leaned back against the headboard and studied Kim next to him. "I just felt bad about what I said… okay? I didn't want it to... to, like, blow up in our faces… again." Kim slid him a look. "Y'know what I mean. I didn't…"

"Want it to turn into another friendship rift like what happened the night our hands separated," Kim finished.

Ron nodded, "Exactly." The he added bitterly, "I thought that was _my_ mistake."

"Then I guess you're being hypocritical."

"Let's just drop it."

"Ron," Kim started, she dropped her hands onto her lap in exasperation. "Why can't you understand _my_ POV on this? I learned my lesson about understanding yours, but what about you, huh?"

"There's a difference between understanding and agreeing."

"Alright. Okay. Fine. Okay. But… at least…" Kim turned to face him, he was trying hard not to look at her. "Could you at least tell me _why_?"

"Wha?" This time he looked at her.

"At least tell me why you do this to yourself." Before Ron could open his mouth, Kim kept going. "Even if this isn't something we agree on, you can at least talk to me about it. We know all of our secrets and we tell each other everything! We always have ever since we were little. It's only going to get worse and worse if you hold this against me."

Ron turned away again, but Kim could see the internal conflict inside of him.

"Maybe," she ventured, "I'll understand better if you tell me and…"

"You'll leave me alone about it?" Ron asked.

"Maybe." Kim never knew 'maybe' could be a lie.

Ron slumped on the bed and laid down, resting his head on her fluffy, pink pillows. "You'll just make fun of me… I… It's from long ago… You'd just laugh at me now."

"No I won't," Kim replied softly. "Have I ever laughed at you when we've had serious talks?"

"No."

"Ron, I know this is huge for you. I wouldn't hurt you by laughing or anything like that."

"Will you tell anyone?"

Kim held back, she wasn't sure if she could make a promise like that. She _wanted_ to help him herself, but what if it ended up being impossible and she needed professional help for him? But then her Father's words from the dinner table drifted up into her ears 'Anything's possible for a Possible!'. So sucking in her breath, Kim shook her head slowly. "No, I won't tell anyone. I just… I really don't understand… And I want to."

Ron fell silent again and to give him extra comfort to ease the secret out of him, she lightly picked up his head and placed it on her lap and began to stroke his hair. It was a bold move, but she knew it would console him.

Kim looked down at him, his head on her lap. His eyes were staring straight but she could tell Ron was deeply perturbed. He really didn't understand; Ron truly had no understanding that what he was doing wasn't good for him no matter how many times Kim told him.

"Why do you do this, Ron?" Kim asked softly, desperately. "You've told me before you don't care what people think about you. 'Never be normal', what, back then, made you suddenly care how everyone views you? Help me understand you better."

The pause was a very long one, but Kim was patient, faithful that Ron would respond.

Eventually he did. "It's not because of what everyone else thinks. I-It's because… of you."

Kim almost outburst her cry of surprise but immediately held it in just as it was about to blow from her mouth. No, she had to stay calm, and to keep Ron in this placid mood. If she made a big deal out of it, he wouldn't talk.

"How me?" she asked ever so cautiously.

All this time Kim thought Ron's reasons for being bulimic were the stereotype reason: because he was worried about being overweight, because he was self-conscious when people looked at him but he just stated it wasn't that. And still, Kim didn't understand how she played into Ron's reasoning.

Ron didn't respond.

"You compare yourself to me?"

"No."

A pause.

"No, that's not why."

"Then correct me."

"Because… because I like Bueno Nacho. I _like_ food, you know that. B-but if I eat as much as I like to… well… I wouldn't be able to come with you on your missions would I? I'd slow you down. Then… well, back when I first sta- started it, I thought if I lagged you… you'd drop me as your sidekick and… and ask Josh instead of me. That's why."

Kim was silent for the longest time. She had the itch to explode at him for his stupidity. She couldn't believe this is what started his bulimia! All because he had assumed that of her! Like she would ever dump Ron as her sidekick and… ask… Josh…

But she almost had once.

Ron was right again.

Never now, not now would she ever in a million years ask Josh to be her sidekick—that was nearly ridiculous bordering on insane. But who knew what she would have done back when she had been blind about Ron's feelings towards her. She remembered the long ago inner battle about Ron being a _boy_ back when their hands had been attached. Kim recalled that if she had chosen someone else, other than Ron to be her Mister Future-Husband, he might not like the idea of her and Ron spending so much time together. Certainly Kim and Ron spent nights together on missions (globe hopping and time zones and what not) and perhaps Mister Future-Husband wouldn't like that idea, even if she and Ron were only supposed to be friends. Suppose Mister Future-Husband preferred if he came along instead of Ron. And that Mister Future-Husband, back then, could have very well been Josh Mankey. Or in Ron's mind, at least.

"But…" Kim started, wetting her lips. "But I don't like Josh now. So I guess you don't need to anymore, right?"

"No," Ron replied simply. "That's how it first started, but… I still like food."

"Yes, but, I'd never drop you as a sidekick no matter what! Ron, that's so silly, you're being silly. You should know better than that."

But again Ron shook his head. "It only makes sense."

"Yea, but…"

"Admit it, Kim. I'm right. It's a fact, it's a truth."

"Yes, but," Kim's voice was soft and near trembling, "I would never… never drop you as—"

"You said that already," Ron interrupted. "The fact remains, KP: I like food. What else am I to do?"

"Not eat as much," Kim suggested.

"No. This works well," Ron's voice was flat, "It's such a simple solution. Just eat it and then bring it up, what could be more simple? There's no problem, it's a solution. A smart one too."

"It's not smart…" Kim said, more to herself. "You've been skinny your entire life, ever since I've known you as a little kid. You already have a high speed metabolism, adding this will only worsen things more than it would to other people." Ron continued to say nothing. "You don't know what bulimia is, you've never learned about it, never run into such a word, and yet you know what to do. How, Ron?"

"What?" This caught him off guard.

"How do you know to purge your food after stuffing yourself. Where did you learn that, and yet not learn the word or the fact that it's dangerous?"

"T-That's personal."

Kim waved her hand through Ron's hair. "You were going to tell me everything, remember? So I can understand you."

"But…" his voice became distressed. "Kim, I can't…"

"Why?" her voice was not even a whisper.

"She told me not to…"

" 'She'?" Kim asked in a very non-intrusive way. "A 'she' told you? What other 'she' is there than me?"

Ron scrunched up his eyes and tightly shut his mouth as if he was in a great deal of pain.

"Is this 'she' the same person who gave you those pills?"

"Yea."

"You've never been to a doctor."

"Never."

"And yet you have them prescribed, how does that happen?"

Ron continued to say no more and Kim fought to think of who this 'who' could possibly be.

"If I guess her, will you tell me yes or no?" she asked.

"Maybe."

"Your Mom, was it your Mom?"

"Maybe."

"So it was." Then Kim's voice became slightly disbelieving. "Your _Mom_ knows you're bulimic? Wait… did she… she _tell_ you how to do this!"

"_No!_" Ron burst, shifting himself. She noticed Ron wrap his arms around his stomach tightly. "No, I taught myself cos I saw her doing it and knew it was the solution and then she found out and she gave me the pills and said I have to take them. That's it."

Kim sat, stunned. "She lets you do this?"

"She gave me the pills and said I have to take them. They're hers, she gives 'em to me."

"This is just… just so... Why doesn't she get you help?"

"She has, you told me. The pills are to help me. That's how she helps me. See? She cares."

"So do I," Kim murmured, "I wish you had told me all this when this started happening."

"I _couldn't_," Ron insisted, rubbing his eyes. "You were all 'Josh now!'. That would have been way loserific of me to go all 'hey! I'm doing this for you!'. Besides… why should I have told you anyway? It wasn't something you, like, _had_ to know. There was, like, no… no, like, no time that I could have told you, y'know? No opportunity... No… reason."

"But _still_, Ron, there's no reason why you should be doing this. We could sort this out _so_ easily now that you've explained it to me—"

"I'm tired."

Kim sighed with exasperation. "I'm sure you are, Ron."

"We can… talk about it more to-morrow."

"Really?" Kim arched a sceptical eyebrow at him.

"I trust you."

He didn't realise it, but that comment sent Kim's cheeks alight with red glow. "Thank-you, Ron. That means a lot to me."

Ron nodded and closed his eyes. Kim sat for a few moments longer, just leaning back and stroking Ron's hair. At least some progress had been made, she had discovered the _why_. It was silly to Kim, but then… through all the torment he had gone through when she had shunned Ron during the time Kim had thought she hated him, it didn't seem that farfetched. She remembered the boulder incident in Australia and how he risked her hating him even more to save her life when already she had been so cruel (_And I deserved to be hit by that rock_, she thought bitterly). It was pretty much the same as this. Again, Ron was hurting himself for her and it sent more guilt flowing through her.

_But this isn't something I knew anything about or forced him into. I can tell him that. _Now that Kim knew, and understood, the 'why', she believed that she really could make progress with him after all because…

"_You_ mean a lot to me," she whispered.

But Ron was already asleep so Kim laid his head upon her pillow and pulled over the rest of her homework to finish.

-ø-

Kim woke up first when her alarum clock sounded off. Doing the usual yawn and stretch, Kim sat herself up and shut of her clock and was about to pull out of bed when she remembered that Ron was still sleeping next to her. As usual, he hadn't heard the alarum clock go off, it made her smile.

"Hey, Ron," she called, gently riling his shoulder. "Wake up, we gotta get ready for school."

"Mmm."

"Yes, _you_. Hey, hey, Rufus," Kim poked Ron's little mole-rat curled up high on the pillow she and Ron had shared. "Help me out here?"

Rufus shuffled, yawned, and fell back asleep.

"Pfft, thanks a lot," Kim retorted. "Look, Ron, I'm not going to turn this into a fight so you better just get up now, okay? … Ron. Ron. _Ron!_"

Ron only made a fraction of a movement.

Kim groaned and began to shake him even more when she began to hear footsteps traipsing up from the bottom floor to the second floor of the house.

"Ron, okay, you're so getting up _now_!" And with one great shove, Kim rolled Ron right of her bed, blankets and all to land on the floor with a great loud _THUD_! And a:

"AuGHgh!"

"Kimmie, was that you?" called Mrs Possible from downstairs. There was the distinct sound of footsteps coming closer…

"Yes!" Kim called back hastily. "I'm changing, uh, d-don't come in! Changing… cos…. I am… and I… dropped… myself. I'LL BE DOWN IN A FEW."

"Alright…" the sounds of footsteps departed, "But hurry, Ron will be coming soon."

Kim gritted her teeth at that last remark of her Mother's.

"Dropped _yourself_?" Ron grumbled as he hauled himself off the floor and crawled back onto the bed. "Dropped _me_. On the head too…"

"Yea and you better get out of here before my parents find out you've been here the whole night!"

"So?" Ron snorted, standing himself up, "It's not like anything happened." He said that last part in a grumble.

Kim rolled her eyes, marched her way around her bed to Ron's side and bent down to pick up his school backpack he had brought with him last night. "Yea, you and I know that, but _they_ don't and, excuse me for being selfish, but I'd rather not be grounded for another two weeks again."

"Well maybe you shoulda thought of that _before_ you invited me through your window." Ron picked up Rufus from the pillow and slipped him into his pocket and took his bag back from Kim.

"And back out the window you'll go!" Kim added and began pushing Ron towards her window.

"HUH? What! Are you kidding!" Ron yelped as he struggled against Kim shepherding him. "I, uh, I thought I was going down the stairs!" Kim blocked his attempt at an escape.

"To have my parents catch you? No way." She reached forwards and opened the window.

"Say whaaaAAAAAAHH!"

_THUD!_

But it was too late, Kim had accidently pushed Ron right out the window, backpack, Rufus and all.

"Sorry! Oh, and I'll be down in a few okay?" Kim whisper-shouted to Ron before shutting her window closed.

All Ron could do was emit a groan and twitch his fingers for a somewhat decent response.

_Does she, like, want to send me into another freaking coma or something?_ He grunted as he heaved himself up again, patted the dirt from his shirt and rang Kim's doorbell.

He was still grumbling to himself when Mrs Possible answered the door with her usual smile. "Hello, Ron! Why…" she stared at his scruffy appearance. "Why, it looks like you've just fallen from the sky!" (Ron returned this with a weakened smile.) "There was no need for you to hurry over, Kimmie's not even down yet."

"I kn… Yea, I forgot to set my clock, I thought I was going to be late…"

"Oh, well come inside, were you able to have breakfast?"

"Uh, no." He followed Mrs Possible inside where she led him into the kitchen.

"Then you can have some while you wait for Kim to come down."

"Wow, thanks, Mrs Dr P!" And Ron slipped himself into the breakfast table, across from him sat Mr Possible reading the morning newspaper as usual. Ron waited for Mrs Possible to hand him his plate of beacon and eggs.

He hadn't even finished his plate when Kim came downstairs, already dressed and primed for school. It hadn't been _that_ long since she shoved him out the window, had it? But he _did_ notice that as soon as she entered in her white top with the heart and flaring pink pants, that she froze and stared at him. Ron was at first baffled to way Kim should be shocked to see him. But then he realised where her eyes were darting towards. His plate. He became rigid and crammed some eggs into his mouth, chewed, then said:

"Your Mom offered me some breakfast." He gave a brief pause. "Y'know, since I _didn't have any this morning_. I rushed over here."

He didn't unlock his eyes from hers until she moved again, hastily towards the oven where her own breakfast was awaiting her. "Ah," she said, "We'll be leaving soon though."

"No need to rush," Mr Possible said, still not looking up from his paper. "You're not that late, Ronald."

Ron returned with a grin Mr Possible didn't see and finished off the rest of his breakfast as Kim came to join him. Soon Jim and Tim came down the stairs and into the kitchen for food and right when they did, before they could start bantering their sister, Kim scooted out of her seat, plate finished and tugged Ron to follow.

-ø-

With the morning classes completed, Ron was sitting with Kim in the cafeteria for lunch but this time, he had protection with him from another battle of the food. He had _friends_ with him. Felix and Monique were seated at their table, all four of them chatting as one large group. Not only was it the perfect distraction for Kim to keep her mind off his eating habits, but there wasn't any way she would bring up his eating habits in front of Felix and Monique when she had _promised_ to him not to tell anyone else.

So Ron sat there, smugly eating his pizza as he listened in on the group chat about school gossip.

Ron was about to open his mouth to speak when he saw, Kim, so blatantly in front of him, just reach out and take a slice of _his_ pizza. He stared at her with wide eyes as she lifted his slice and took a bite from it. When she noticed that he was watching her, she raised her eyebrows at him and dared to give him an innocent smile. Ron shook his head ever so slightly from side to side but still Kim smiled.

"Something wrong, Ron?" she asked sweetly and took another bite.

That irritated Ron.

"That's mine," he said, trying to keep his voice level. He was aware that Monique and Felix were watching carefully, perhaps they were picking up on the invisible tension between he and Kim.

"You've had a few slices," Kim replied. "I'm hungry, I'm sure you don't mind sharing."

"I do."

Now it was silence all around the table.

"Well," Kim said, taking another pause. "I've already bitten into it. Guess it's mine now."

Ron's smile was icy, as was his voice when he said, "Then you can go back in line and get me another one."

He didn't miss the sudden flash in Kim's eyes. He also felt the eyes of Felix and Monique begin to speculate on what was going on. Ron was sure they now suspected something else was being conveyed between their two friends other than a simple slice of pizza.

"Maybe I don't want to," Kim replied, her voice cautious but just about to break the edge. "Maybe… you should just eat what you have and leave it at that."

"Then…" Ron gently laid his pizza down on his plate on top of one already there. Kim peered at him curiously, obviously trying to hide her creeping anxiety. "I'll just go get another one myself." Then Ron stood up, picked up his tray, and walked back towards the cafeteria line.

When Ron was in the line, he made sure to look back at Kim and to send her that look of defiance. It looked like Ron had finally won against Kim in something. The smile on his face was just barely there, only there if you knew to look for it, and the only person who knew that was Kim. She saw that barely existing smug smile and it left her jaw open. It was last night's bathroom race all over again.

When Ron returned with _two more_ slices and picked one up to begin eating, Kim threw her hands up in the air and gave a loud groan that attracted nearly everyone in the cafeteria's attentions, including that of the lunch ladies. Snorting, Kim stomped out of the cafeteria, steaming all the way, leaving behind the pizza she had taken a bite out of.

As soon as she left, all eyes landed on Ron Stoppable. And he was well aware of it too. Sucking his lips, Ron decided to pretend to ignore everyone and attempted a silent bite of pizza.

Ron only knew it was safe to breathe again when he heard the sound of whispers flurrying from all around the caf. He had no idea what they were saying, but he was pretty sure some crazy rumours were going to start flying around.

"Um." Monique was the first to speak up. "Maybe you should, uh, go talk to Kim."

Felix nodded warily.

Ron almost laid down the pizza in thought, Rufus on the table paused his own eating to look up and inquire at Ron. But after a long, thoughtful pause, Ron lifted the pizza slice and said:

"I will. After I'm done eating."

Monique and Felix could only exchange worried looks.

While Ron stood by his beliefs in the cafeteria with his pizza, Kim continued to storm down the halls to cool off steam. Finally when she had nearly walked a full circle around the ground floor of Middleton High did she stop and sit down on the base of a staircase, groaning again, and buried her face in her hands.

She didn't know what to do anymore. Ron was no longer listening to whatever she said and there was no way Kim could go too far with this or she could risk another post-hand holding, pre-coma fiasco. Not only that, but whenever she did speak up and against Ron's eating habits, she always felt that twinge of guilt, her constant guilt-trip reminder the little lanyard bracelet Ron had given Kim for Christmas.

What in the world could she do now? There was nothing left, she thought. Was she really going to have to recruit professional help for Ron? But what if they insisted on taking him away from her…

"I don't know what to do…" Kim moaned softly to herself.

Maybe she didn't have to call upon professional help just yet, but that didn't mean she couldn't enlist some sort of help.

_Sorry, Ron_, Kim thought sadly, remembering her promise to him not to tell anyone as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her Kimmunicator.

"Hi, Wade," Kim said.

"So you're going to tell me what that was all about?" he asked.

"…. Wut?"

"In the cafeteria just now."

"…. How do _you_ know about that?"

"_Please_," Wade leaned back in his chair, a self-confident grin plastered on his face. "If I told you _all_ the places I have hidden cameras…"

Kim winced, "Maybe your health would be better off _not_ telling me."

"I thought as much. So what's up?"

"I… I need help."

Wade's eyes widened.

"No, Wade, not me… like, augh. I need help for _Ron_. I don't think I can do this anymore, he's not listening to me."

Wade became more attentive, "What's his problem?"

"I…" Kim paused again, she began to have second thoughts on whether or not she really should reveal Ron's secret.

"Want me to make it easier on you?" Wade suddenly spoke out, his voice sounded sympathetic.

"What do you— You mean you _know_?"

"He's bulimic, right?"

"How do you know!"

"Just a guess."

"And for the record, I didn't tell you that." (Wade sent her a glare.) "How long have you known..?"

Wade flushed, "Since just now. I just put two and two together, what you said in the caf and then you wanted help with a 'problem' of Ron's. I'm a super genius, or did you forget?"

Kim snorted, "Maybe I forgot."

"Then it's a good thing I reminded you!"

Kim rolled her eyes, "So can you help, Wade? What can I do… you saw what happened, he's just not listening to me!"

"Kim… I had to do a paper on eating disorders when I was in grade ten."

"Grade ten..?" Ten _year-old_ Wade arched his eyebrows at Kim. "Oh, right. Super genius. Got it."

"And I don't think you're going to like what I have to say. Kim, I don't think there's much you _can_ do if he won't listen."

Kim eyes flared wide apart and before her mouth could as well, Wade interrupted to finish what he had to say.

"You can tell him you're concerned, you can tell him how you feel, but you can't _force_ him to stop, can you? You'll just push him away…"

"I know, I know," Kim moaned. "But…"

"What I _do_ suggest," Wade carried on, "Is you tell someone you _can_ help."

Kim snorted and lifted her chin with dignity. "If _I_ can't help Ron, _no-one_ can. I mean, _really—_"

"His parents."

Kim froze.

"His parents can do something about it, you should tell them. Then he can get the help he needs."

"Tell… tell his… his parents..?" Kim stuttered as she nearly drifted away in thought.

Wade nodded.

"But I can't!" she squealed. She decided against telling Wade this his _Mother_ already knew. "They wouldn't care! Don't you remember what happened when he was in the coma! Oh, pfft, big help _they_ were, Mister and Missus Let's-Kill-Our-Only-Son-And-Kim's-Best-Friend-For-No-Reason-At-All-Because-We're-Both—"

"I think I got the message," Wade replied stonily.

"No way! There _has_ to be something that _we_ can do! Some kind of cure or something… I thought you were a 'Super Genius'."

Wade puffed out his chest, "I am! But there's no wonderful cure for this. It's all in his head."

"So was the coma thing and you found Mystical Monkey Thingies for that!"

"I'm sorry, Kim, but you really just need to swallow your pride and tell someone! Like an _adult_."

By this point, Kim was so disgusted with not just Wade and his 'solution', but all that had just happened in the cafeteria, last night and the fruitless weeks before that in a moment of aggravated despair, she shut the Kimmunicator off and chucked it across the hallway. The device slammed it into a locker and she finished off her fit with a great big "AUGH," and once again buried her head into her hands and moaned desolately.

"I thought I recognised that 'augh'," said a slightly familiar voice.

"Huh?" Kim sniffed and lifted her head and to see Josh standing in the hallway by the fallen Kimmunicator. Bending down, Josh picked it up and walked over to Kim, handing it to her.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"Uh… Not really," Kim admitted, "Just some slight turbulence, no big."

"I hope you sort out whatever's troubling you soon," Josh nodded. A moment of silence passed between them as Kim clung to the Kimmunicator and stared down at the blank screen looking woeful. Josh leaned against the wall next to the stairs as if waiting for Kim to speak but she was far too busy with her own Ron-concerned troubles to even notice.

"I kinda wanted to say something," Josh spoke up again and this perked Kim's attention.

Josh had no way of knowing it, but she was immediately recalling a similar even in the past when she and Ron had had another fallout in their friendship and Josh came to her wanting to patch up a misunderstanding of their own. In that past, Kim had accepted Josh's offer and from there, everything began to spiral out of control into the brink of insanity for her and for Ron.

But this time, there was no misunderstanding between her last encounter with Josh at the Winter Formal and certainly Kim Possible would _not_ make the same mistake twice. No, she had learned that lesson well when she had been in Ronderland. No matter what, the bracelet around her wrist for proof, Kim would stand by her Ron… even if he had been acting like a huffy, drama queen lately.

"I'm not getting back up with you, Josh."

Josh smiled faintly, Kim never wavering in her determined expression.

"I wasn't going to ask that, Kim."

_Oh. Well. There could be that too. There goes all my thought-provoking internal battle down the drain. _

Kim fiddled with the Kimmunicator in her hands. "What did you want to talk about then?"

"I just think we kind of ended on a low note at Winter Formal, don't you think?"

Kim blushed and avoided Josh's eyes. "Sure. I-I'm sorry, Josh. I shouldn't have exploded at you… I wasn't…. going through a great time and I just really…"

"Needed Ron."

Kim blushed even more and tried to hide her face by bending her head and allowing her hair to fall down. "Maybe."

"Hey, it's fine," Josh shrugged. "I wanted to make sure everything was cool between us still after what just happened then. I want you to know that I'm still willing to be your friend."

This sent more blush through Kim's cheeks, but it wasn't the kind of blush that Josh used to give her back in September and the years before when he was within any sort of distance of Kim. This blush was more of guilt. And yet not guilty enough to make Kim no longer look Josh in the eyes.

"Thanks," she replied maturely. "I'd like that."

"Cool, I'll see you around then, hope you bring home the trophy at nationals later on."

"Me too!"

With a wave, Josh turned and continued on his hike down the hallways and rounded the corner, disappearing.

Kim was left alone. Or thought she was. She hadn't been aware of the hidden figure that now took his own path away from Kim, deeply troubled with what he had just witnessed.

Ron hadn't liked what he had seen one bit and he needed to distance himself from the scrutinising eyes of the cafeteria to allow himself some thought space. So he walked into the gymnasium, hoping it would be empty only to be proven wrong.

There were a few groups of students eating their lunches, spaced moderately apart from each other on the benches, including Bonnie, Hope and Tara. Just as Ron was about to walk back out and maybe try the benches in the swimming pool, Tara caught sight of him and called him over, flagging him down with her waves.

This cheered Ron and he jogged up to meet her, despite the presence of Bonnie and the snort she gave him when he sat down next to Tara.

"Oh great. _Why_ did you have to invite _him_?" Bonnie looked over at Ron disdainfully. "He's going to ruin my lunch."

"Don't be so callous, Bonnie!" Tara giggled, "He's my friend!"

"But _not_ mine," Bonnie's lips snarled. "I can't be seen out of practice with the loser, especially when so many people are present," she waved a hand at the surrounding area. "Come, Hope, let's find a less _spoiled _area to eat." Grabbing her half-eaten sandwich and backpack, Bonnie tramped down the staircase, Hope following.

"Just ignore her," Tara sighed to Ron. "She can be so overly dramatic at times! She doesn't hate you."

"_Really_?" Ron asked sceptically.

"_Really_!" Tara insisted, her eyes so innocent in her belief in everyone's good that it almost made Ron give a snort too. "So where's Kim?" Tara inquired, "Is she coming?"

"Naw. I, uh, don't think she is."

"Did… did something happen? Oh, not again!" Tara placed a delicate palm to her cheek in misery. "Not again…"

"I dunno," Ron shrugged. "I just… Well, Tara, I saw her with Josh."

"I… My-my…" Tara fidgeted uncomfortably then suddenly lifted her head and added, "But that doesn't mean anything, silly! You and I are friends and that doesn't… mean…. Well, just because Kim is talking with Josh doesn't mean she's interested in him! You can't guess that."

"Exactly, but it's what I heard that's getting my nervousness all atwitter."

"W-what did they say?" Tara's voice was barely a whisper.

"Kay, so, I was walking 'round the corner to try and find Kim and talk to her. But then I heard voices and I recognised it to be Kim's she said 'maybe'. Then I hear another voice and then I go 'that's Josh!'. So I hide just 'round the corner to hear him say 'I wanted to be sure everything's cool between us still after _what just happened then_.—'"

"What just happened?"

"Oh, trouble in the caf," it was Ron's turn to fidget. "Kim and I sorta kinda had ourselves a lil tiff and she stormed out of the caf. Caused a huge scene. Anyway, then, _then_ Josh said 'I want you to know I still want to be your 'friend'." Ron raised his eyebrows significantly at Tara who nodded with instant understanding. "And there's more. Oh dude… oh man, oh gosh… Kim _blushed_!" (Tara gasped horrifically.) "And she said "Thanks, I'd _like that_'!"

"That's…" Tara shook her head slowly. "That's _terrible_!" she cried. "You think she's going to get together with Josh?"

Ron shrugged, "I'm worried about it. Because of what happened in the caf. Josh knows and he's gonna take advantage of the small distance between Kim and me right now, y'know?"

"But that's so mean! Josh always seemed so nice…"

"You can never tell with those artsy types. Ya never know what kind of evil domination schemes lurk under their skulls, right?"

"I suppose so…"

"I mean, like, look at Picasso!" Again Ron arched his eyebrows suggestively. "Pretty twisted dude if you ask me."

"You're right, you're right!" Tara agreed looking purely distraught. "You can't let that happen!"

"Exactly! Kim's mine, he can't just stake a claim on her when she's all vulnerable—That's what he did last time! Right in our last argument, he went all fresh with her while she was all, I dunno, 'emotionally unstable' and junk and she totally fell for him!" Ron scowled and hunched his shoulders, mimicking a brooding monkey full of angst.

"Yes…" Tara agreed then her eyes lit up as an idea came to her. "Oh, I know what you need to do! I know how you can make Josh go away!"

Ron nearly bounced in his seat. "Really! What?"

"You can end your argument with Kim!" Tara said brightly (or attempted).

"…" Ron paused.

This pause once again distressed Tara. "I-is something wrong?" She tapped her chin, "I thought it was a good idea… did I leave a detail out..?"

"I don't know if I can do that."

"Why not?"

"It's not that simple."

"But if you had a fight with Kim, say you're sorry, then she'll say sorry. And she'll soon forget all about Josh!" Tara clasped her hands with delight in her theory.

"It's not that kind of argument. It's more like one having to give in to the other to be satisfied and both can't be," Ron replied sullenly.

"I'm sure every fight has _some_ kind of common ground," she suggested openly.

"With a Kim argument, there _is_ no common ground."

Tara was about to open her mouth when she abruptly stopped and stared at something behind Ron. Wondering what it could be, he turned around and saw that Kim herself had just entered the gymnasium, still holding the door open. She was looking directly at Ron and Tara.

Ron's expression didn't change, but Tara's did. She immediately brightened and called over Kim with more great waves like she had done to Ron much like she was waving down an airplane on a runway.

Ron watched Kim do almost a little dance as she took a few steps forwards, a few back, then a step forwards again before deciding on joining up with Tara and Ron.

"Where's Bonnie and Hope?" was the first thing out of Kim's mouth as she sat gingerly next to Ron as if spies were hidden nearby.

"They couldn't handle my manliness," Ron returned with a grin. It made Tara giggled and for Kim to roll her eyes.

"How come you moved out of the caf? I went there looking for you but Felix and Monique said you had left. They said you went looking for me." Kim's eyes darted to Tara and then back to Ron, then she gave a small, polite smile.

"I did," Ron said. "I thought you'd be here but you weren't. Tara saw me and asked me to join her."

"Ah," Kim nodded.

"Where were you, by the by?" Ron asked, hoping he wasn't sounding too suspicious.

"I was sitting on some stairs talking to Wade."

"Oh. Really. To Wade?"

"Um. _Really_," Kim gave Ron a sarcastic look and shook her head.

Before any more of the where-have-_you_-been banter could continue, the Kimmunicator beeped in Kim's pocket and she pulled it out.

"Hey, Ki—" Wade began.

Kim gritted her teeth. _Uh-oh, what if Wade brings something up about Ron's ish! Ron might think I spilled to Wade or something. _

"OH. Hey, Wade. Oh. Hey, look. Wade, here's Ron. He's sitting right beside me," Kim turned the Kimmunicator to face Ron who froze.

"Um. _Yes_." Wade replied back, wondering what in the world was with Kim's behaviour and obsession with periods after every, almost, two words. "I see Ron. Wade sees Ron. Ron is on screen—"

"Yea, okay, so what's up?" Kim asked, returning to business.

"Got a mission for you, actually!"

"A mission?" Kim and Ron asked together in unison and Rufus poked his head out of Ron's pocket with equal fascination.

"Okay," Kim continued, "So what's the sitch?"

"It's Adrena-Lynn."

"Adrena-Lynn?" Kim asked, slightly surprised. "Wow. Didn't think we'd be hearing from her… ever again. Interesting, so what's she up to? Television related, I'm guessing?"

"You mean you haven't heard?"

Kim, Ron, Tara and Rufus all exchanged looks (Tara mainly wondering who 'adrenaline' was).

"Um… noooooooo," Kim raised an eyebrow at him. "See, usually the drill goes you tell _me_ what's the sitch. I'm not the one surgically attached to a computer twenty-four seven."

Wade didn't look too amused at that last remark. "Ha. Ha. What I _meant_ by that is that it's on all the latest news sites: Adrena-Lynn's trying to regain her popularity with a new stunt airing to-night!"

Kim couldn't ignore that first bit. "And just _how long_ has it been on all the latest news sites seeing as I just beeped you a few minutes ago."

"Um. Uh. Well." Wade replied shiftily, hands folded too neatly in front of him. "Okay, okay, so you wouldn't have heard. But I'm going to hook you guys up with a lift after school to Toronto."

"Awww," Ron whined, "Do we _have_ to wait until _after_ school. Just, like, tch, can't we go _now_?"

"After school's the soonest," Wade shrugged.

"Where's Toronto?" Tara asked confusedly.

"I think it's an island in the Caribbean," Ron replied.

Kim stared in abhorrence at the two blondes. "Um, it's in _Canada_. Any reason why she's hitting there, Wade? Didn't think she was very well known there."

"Exactly! If you make it big in another country, your chances of making it better in other countries is much easier and she's practically marked as a villain here."

"Ah, she's smart," Ron nodded. "I should try that sometime."

"Tchach, and with what?" Kim retorted.

"Um…"

While Kim left Ron in thought, Kim returned to her conversation with Wade. "Alright, sounds like it'll be fun meeting up with one of the old baddies. So not the drama! We'll be there!"

-ø-

The night sky was directly above Ron's head and barely a star in the sky could be seen for all the city lights surrounding Ron blocked out any star trying to shine its way through the man-made lights. The air was chilly out and Ron shivered slightly as he trotted to keep up with Kim just ahead of him. As he looked left and right at the scenery, all Ron saw were the blaring, flaring, searing lights cutting through the night as cars whizzed by, their headlights glaring in Ron's eyes, the busy metropolis thrived on its night life. There were signs and advertisements, everything all around him in the big city seemed to entrance Ron. He almost stared at a brightly lit advertisement on a building for so long while he walked that he nearly walked out into the busy street before Kim could grab him back onto the sidewalk.

"So where are we going?" Ron asked as Kim walked down the street, constantly looking up from the Kimmunicator as she followed a little map on its screen. "Like, where and what is Adrena gonna be pulling this time? I dunno about you, but I'm hitting the flashback button to a couple of years ago and…"

"There." Kim stopped suddenly and pointed at something ahead. "That's where she's going to be having her stunt."

Ron craned his neck around Kim to follow her pointing finger. "I don't see… Oh… My… No. No freaking way. _Please_."

It just so happened that Kim was pointing at _the_ most tallest tower Ron had ever seen. To be correct, the tallest building ever made, pierced the night sky with its fierce sharp point as if claiming its godly domination on the land.

Ron gulped loudly.

"I… I, uh…" he stammered, "I do hope she's planning her stunt somewhat firmly on the _ground_."

Kim raised an eyebrow at him. "Somehow, I doubt that." Kim pulled up the Kimmunicator again to check this time zone's time. "We gotta get a move on, Ron. We don't know when Adrena-Lynn is going to hold her attention whore-ing." With that, Kim ran forwards down the streets and towards the base of the tower where a group of people were gathering.

"I am _so_ having a bad feeling about this," Ron mumbled to Rufus who shivered and chattered with fear on his shoulder violently. But he ran forwards, fists slinging forwards and backwards as he caught up with Kim.

When he had joined up with her and the two had reached the base of the domineering tower, they stopped just outside the massive crowd all grouped tightly around. Ron watched Kim hop around the outside, jumping up and down to try and see over the heads of the adults but it was to no avail. Ron gave a startled sound when Kim suddenly grabbed his wrist and pulled him through the spectators.

Kim grunted and pushed her way through all the people compressed together, most with cameras and camcorders at the ready. Kim and Ron were so tightly squished that Ron was almost in danger of being left behind and losing Kim completely, but eventually all of Kim's aggressive determination paid off and they reached the front of the crowd that was…

Sealed off with police tape?

"What's going on?" Ron asked as he looked left and right.

There were police officers around the doors to the tower with their squad cars parked closely by. It looked like they were having a tough time getting in.

Ron mentioned this to Kim and then posed the question: "Why would the police wanna get inside if Adrena-Lynn's just having herself a stunt for publicity?"

He was surprised to receive a quiet hush from Kim. She pointed to a reporter with a camera crew just to their right.

"… And the police still can't get inside the Tower that has been commandeered by an entertainer who, at the stroke of midnight, claims she will be _leaping off_ the Tower and will _survive_. There hasn't been any word of contact with the people trapped inside, staff members or visitors."

"She stole the entire _tower_?" Ron whispered anxiously to Kim who huddled close to him to be able to hear. "How could she have done that all by herself?"

"I have no idea, Ron, but we need to get inside that tower ASAP." Kim, lifting the Kimmunicator again to check this time zone's time again, said, "The reporter said midnight and it's already ten-thirty!"

"We have lots of time left…" Ron trailed off.

"Come on, Ron," Kim again grabbed Ron's wrist again and this time pulled him right underneath the caution tape and towards the police officers at the front doors.

They turned around when the two teenagers approached, all with hard looks for her crossing the tape.

But before they could speak, Kim said, "Hi! I'm Kim Possible, I've come to help stop Adrena-Lynn. She tried something like this in New York a few years back that we dealt with."

Some of the police officers looked wary or even like they were going to laugh but the chief stepped forwards and nodded. "I remember that. There was a kid… what's-his-name, he exposed that stunt woman for being a fraud, right? I thought it was her…"

"Um. It's Ron."

"Huh?"

Ron cleared his throat. "I wrote the paper," he put in proudly and Kim coughed something into her fist that resembled 'proud-much?'. "My name's Ron Stoppable! I'm her," he sidled closer to Kim and placed a hand on her shoulder. (Unfortunately, Kim wasn't in that kind of mood and could only roll her eyes and cross her arms with flushed embarrassment). "I'm her sidekick."

"Ron Stoppable, huh? Sounds about right…"

"I'm never going to remember that name," said a police officer from somewhere in the back and a fellow of his nodded.

Interrupting the chit-chat, Kim returned to the business. "So why can't we get inside? Did she tamper with the security locks?"

"Exactly," the chief officer replied. "We're having out best people trying to hack the codes, but so far, it could take hours."

"That's time we don't have…" Kim answered as she drifted off in thought and rubbed her chin. "My friend and I are going to go think over a plan of action."

The chief smiled kindly, nodded, and returned to his squad and the scientists Ron had first missed that had some computer device hooked to the security lock.

Once Kim and Ron were a fair distance away and could talk privately among themselves, Ron asked, "Whatcha wanna do?"

Kim snorted, "What do you think? They may have all their scientists from all the top laboratories on their side, but we have a ten-year old super genius on _ours_," and Kim flicked on the Kimmunicator.

"Why didn't you tell him that?"

Kim snorted for the second time. "I don't want police officers following me around on my mission. _Every_ time that happens, they always get in the way—"

Ron flushed, "Y-you mean like me..?"

Kim straightened and double-blinked. "_No_ way! Ron… you…" A red colour sprang up all around Kim's cheeks and it wasn't from the cold. "Oh… Come on, you know I like having you on my missions… that I… need you… you… You and your dumb luck and monkey skills!"

Ron smirked, "That's Dumb _Skills_, KP. _Skills_, not luck."

"Whateveerrrrrr."

"Um, guys. You know I can hear you right?" Wade's voice trailed from the Kimmunicator Kim had turned on but forgot.

"UM. YES. HELLO," Kim flushed again and Ron had himself a laugh, Rufus too. "Okay, so long story short. Adrena-lynn stole the Tower—"

"Where'd she take it?" Wade asked with an enormous smile on his face.

"Oh, tchach, you know what I mean!"

But Ron didn't. "What? You mean the Tower was somewhere else before? I thought the reporter said she commandeered it…"

"…" was all Kim could respond with.

"I think that's the word Kim's looking for," Wade coughed into his fist. "Glad I'm not a blonde… ANYway, yes, gotcha. What do I need to do?"

"Hack the system? Let us get in? I'd like to save the day rather quickly, if I can. We've got major homework…"

"Um, yea," Ron put in impatiently, "And I'm looking forwards to some 'us' time—"

Kim conveniently had a coughing fit at that moment that remarkably lasted the entire time Ron was speaking.

Wade blanched, "Oh, geesh, maybe I _shouldn't_ have helped save Ron back in the coma days. Then there'd be none of this gushy-mushy stuff…"

"Saved me?"

"Ok, I'm scanning now for the weakest part, it may take a few minutes so ha— Got it. The back door is the weakest point that I can _maybe_ hack."

"Back door," Kim sighed, tossing her hair back. "I really should have guessed that one."

"Hey, at least it's not vents again," Ron shrugged and Rufus nodded.

"Meet you there," Wade winked.

"Leeet's go, Ron. We're going to sneak off, like I said," Kim darted her eyes to see if anyone was watching them, "I don't want the police involved in this…"

Stealthily, Kim drifted and merged into the crowd, Ron slipping in after her and together the two weaved in and out, barely anyone noticed them, as the headed to where eventually no-one was standing by the back of the Tower where there was indeed a back door. Kim leaned against the door, Ron standing alert next to her with his hands behind his back as they waited for Wade's call. When five minutes had past, they exchanged a glance and Kim pulled out the Kimmunicator.

"Wade, what's taking so long?"

"Me? What's taking you?"

"Huh?"

"Kim, the door's open, I cracked it a long time ago!" and the ten year-old doubled over in laughter.

Kim snorted with annoyance and stuffed the Kimmunicator back into her pouch. Ron shuffled closer to Kim and she scanned the area one last time before disappearing into the Tower.

It was dark, naturally, and only by the way the shadows fell could Ron guessed they were in some sort of storage room. He could barely see anything, wondering how Kim was doing so well since she wasn't even wearing any Wade-made gadget to aid her. Practically blind, he pricked his ears for any kind of sounds, he didn't know that his Mystical Monkey Power was now in awareness, heightening only the power of his ears at the moment just in case someone might be waiting for them. Even though Ron was nervous in the dark, Rufus too inside Ron's pocket had his Mystical Monkey Power beginning to stir ever so slightly. Kim was the only one not apprehensive in the group and she stalked forwards without hesitation for the next door.

"We need to get to the elevator," Kim said, not even a whisper. "I'm not exactly sure where Adrena-Lynn might be at this time, but something tells me she'll be at the top."

"Did I ever mention I'm afraid of heights, Kim?" Ron piped up from behind still unable to keep his voice out of a whisper.

"A thousand times in our lifetime, Ron… a _thousand_ times over."

"Then what's your excuse for forgetting?" he retorted.

"I didn't forget."

Ron stopped in his steps to open his mouth when he suddenly understood what Kim meant by that. "Heeeey," and he ran to catch up with her.

Eventually they found the door Kim was looking for and they discovered themselves in the main lobby of the tower. The lobby too was dark, but not pitch black like in the storage room. Light from the city streamed through windows to help, that and everyone's eyes had adjusted to the dark by now. Ron could now see that the lounge was _huge_ and if sunshine had been streaming in and the lights on, it would have glowed in golden hues; definitely a classy place to be—it made Ron feel out of place.

Kim walked up to the closest set of elevators and pressed the button. Nothing happened.

"It's dead?" Ron murmured.

Kim rolled her eyes, "Makes sense. If for some chance the police get in, they'd have to climb the stairs to get to her and by that time it could be too late. So let's not let that happen, follow me, Ron."

"Wha…" Ron did not move. "_Excuse me_?"

Kim halted and twirled around, freezing. Suddenly she felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on her head. Was she being too bossy again! She alarumed, she wasn't sure now. Kim had only been wanting him to follow her…

"Ron… I…"

"There is _no_ way I'm going up those stairs. Didju even _see_ how tall this place is? I'm, like… I'm… I'm gonna get cardio arrested or something!"

A small smile spread on Kim's face and the moment of alarum passed by with relief. It was only typical Ron-fear. "Ron, I might need you up there, okay? I won't go too fast, but we need to hurry, remember, midnight—"

"Yea, ahuh, KP, midnight at the party's just starting for Cinderelee up there. I know. But I can't do all those stairs! Like…" He flopped a lifeless hand in despair.

Kim gritted her teeth as she looked at the clock on the wall behind Ron. She so didn't have time for this right now. "Then I'll carry you when you get too tired now _please_, come on! _Please_." Then she dashed forwards towards the stairs, not even looking behind her back to see if Ron was following. She knew he would. Presented with the choice of staying behind, alone and in the dark or climbing thousands of stairs and probably pass out before he could reach the top with Kim, he'd take the stairs.

And so he did, she soon heard the sound of his feet tramping up the steps and already his 'huff-puff'ing from the exert of energy.

As they wound around the Tower, slowly and steadily making their way, Kim had _no_ idea how much time had passed but something told her (perhaps it was the ache in her leg muscles) that it had been a _long_ time and there were still _nowhere_ near the top of the tower. _This really should be counted for gym _credit, she growled to herself. _And get _some_ kind of credit for all the saving the world stuff I do. At least I can put it on my higher education application, right?_

It was then she heard a gasp from behind and a _thunk!_.

"Ron?" As soon as she stopped climbing the stairs to turn around, her legs gave out and she too thunked down on the stairs, gasping for air. Behind, Ron had finally collapsed, unable to go any farther.

"I guess this is my cue to begin carrying you?" Kim asked, trying to hide the moan and rubbed her beyond sore legs. Even _if_ Ron was super light-weight, the prospect of carrying, even another _half_ a pound made Kim just want to give up and roll her way back down the stairs like a barrel. Too bad giving up wasn't an option in her world.

Ron made an incoherent sound and Kim gave a silent groan, lolling her head back in a silent prayer. Against her muscles' wishes, she forced herself (and felt _every_ pain) to stand up, swaggered and (dreaded) going down two steps to scoop Ron up onto her back (oh, her _aching_ back…) and then proceed up the stairs. She took her steps tentatively at first but soon began to pick up some kind of speed which was really just normal walking speed.

"You don't know _how_ unbelievably lucky you are, do you?" Kim growled.

"See?" Ron sighed with solace and nestled his head affectionately on her shoulder. "If I didn't watch what I'd eat, you wouldn't be able to carry me and there'd be no way I could make it up the stairs myself."

Kim gritted her teeth and resisted the twitching urge in her arms to drop him. "We are _so_ not going into that conversation right now. I need to save some energy for fighting Adrena-Lynn."

"Can't hear you," Ron replied with a yawn. "I'm fast asleep."

Kim's lip curled with disgust but treaded on nevertheless.

That's when she almost fell backwards when five large men leapt out onto the stairs from the observation deck Kim and Ron had been approaching.

"Whoah!" Kim cried and nearly dropped Ron who startled and snapped out of his 'sleep'.

"Henchmen!" Ron yelped, gripping Kim's shoulders firmly. The five beefy, muscular men glared at the two of them imposingly a few of the men were already pounding their fists into their hands menacingly. Unknowingly, Kim and Ron's conversation had attracted the attention of a group of henchman watching the goings on outside the Tower from the observation deck that Kim and Ron had been nearing and the henchmen had come to investigate.

"Since when does Adrena-Lynn have henchmen!" Ron shot at the five.

"She's just borrowing a bunch of us," one of them replied.

"We're from Hench Co.," said another.

"Oh, greeaaaat," Kim moaned and she lightly placed Ron down on the step just below her _very_ carefully lest her legs buckle and she fall backwards. "Do we really have to do this, I'm aching already and then there's _more_ stairs and then…"

But before Kim could finish her complaint, one of the henchmen bounded forwards, taking a huge swing at her with the fist the size of a wrecking ball. With a reaction quicker than Ron imagined Kim to have at the energy level she was at, Kim promptly leapt up into the air over the henchman's swiping fist. As she was still in the air, Kim bounded off of the walls, allowing her enough lift to leap clearly over the henchman's head and landed behind him.

"Ron, look out!" she barked and Ron dodged to one side instantly hitting the wall to the side as Kim struck up and out with her foot, connecting brutally with the side of the henchman's head who never had the chance to shield himself.

He let out a cry of pain and then one of fear as he lost his balance. He scrambled for the railing, but once again, too late, and he began his tumble down the hundreds of stairs Kim and Ron had climbed. It wasn't a fate Ron would wish to share.

Shocked and angry with the quick and easy take-out of one of their own, the remaining henchmen took action and the four all struck out for Kim. She danced backwards, out of reach, leading the henchmen onto the observation rotunda instead of being out in the staircase for easier fighting. Ron could no longer see them so he ran after her, not sure what he should do.

Normally, he'd stay out of the way. But Kim was _so_ depleted from the walk up the stairs and, for that matter, so was he. He was still breathing heavily, bending forwards, a hand resting on his leg as he watched Kim stumble as she tried to evade the henchmen. But at the same time, Ron just couldn't stand back and watch Kim be taken down. Ron decided on his course of action right when Kim fell to the ground after… after actually being _punched in the face_ by one of the men.

Ron growled and leapt forwards to stand between Kim who was looking vicious with defiance and rubbing her sore cheek at the oncoming henchmen.

"Get back!" Ron cried, flashing out a hand to stop them.

The henchmen froze, staring at Ron as his chest heaved grievously for air. Then they burst out laughing.

"Hey, hey," one of the henchmen gasped for air between laughs, "I think if you're going to get yourself a body guard, girly, you might want one from Hench Co. instead!"

Ron was about to leap forward, (_not _aided by his Mystical Monkey Power) when it was Kim herself who sprang up but as soon as she did, she was met with another fist that bashed her straight in the head and…

"_Kim!_"

… Knocked her out completely.

"Kim!" Ron screamed and ran to her side, dropping onto his knees to stroke her hair.

"Think I killed her?" one asked.

"Probably, she _is_ a girl."

"What should we do with the other one?" The four observed the skinny boy murmuring to Kim's fallen body, continuing to stroke her hair.

"Mmm, guess we'll just bring him up with the rest where he won't cause any trouble. You know, keep an eye on him in case he decides to try anything. Heh, not that he could!" The henchman spat to one side and bent down, scooping Ron right up around the middle and heaved him with ease over his shoulder as if he was nothing but a plush doll.

"HEY!" Ron screamed and proceeded to pound the back of the henchman. When that didn't work, Ron wiggled, squirmed and thrashed about, trying to free himself.

"Stop that," the henchmen grunted.

Rufus felt all the movement from within Ron's pocket and scrambled out and onto Ron's shoulder.

"No, no," Ron whispered to Rufus, "Stay with Kim, she might need you when she awakens."

Rufus' whiskers trembled and he chattered that he should stay with Ron but Ron was defiant with his choice. So Rufus leapt off and over to where Kim had fallen, hiding close to her face and watched his owner being hauled away.

-ø-

"Mmm…" Kim moaned and tried to move her mouth but it ached intensely. It felt like someone had hit her there. It wasn't just her jaw either, it was her entire body felt sore. It felt like she had just run around the Middleton High track twenty times more. Wasn't she supposed to feel refreshed after sleeping?

Kim cringed as she twitched her fingers and tried to move her hands. Everything just ached so much that she began to wonder if she should just go back to bed and wake up later in the day. As Kim closed her eyelids (even _they_ were aching!) she caught sight of a blurry… … … um… blurry 'something'?

Groaning, Kim opened her eyes, slowly widening them and soon the… 'something' became focused in her vision. Her ears opened up as well and the 'something' was making some kind of noise. Did 'something''s make noises? Double blinking, consciousness returned to her mind and she realised that the 'something' was not a 'something' but rather a 'Rufus'!

"Rufus," she slurred and forced her wobbling arms to push herself up. She teetered slightly as she sat up, but soon her brain regained balance. "W-wha…" Then she looked around and realised she was _not_ in bed and she was most certainly _not_ at home… she was…

"At the Tower!" she gasped, "I have to stop Adrena-Lynn! I—"

But Rufus cut her off and looked like he was going to literally combust if Kim didn't listen to him, for all the jumping around he was doing.

"Wha… Ron!" Kim asked, (she wasn't as fluent in mole-rat as Ron was). "Ron was captured! I gotta rescue him first!" She grabbed Rufus, stuffed him into her pocket and ran around the observation deck a number of times for no reason whatsoever.

"… Where am I going! Where'd they take Ron, where…" But then she heard the distant sound of loud voices. _Not more henchmen!_ If they were henchmen, maybe Ron was with them.

The voices were coming from somewhere nearby, Kim followed the sounds of the voices and eventually came to some stairs. Treading carefully, Kim walked up the short stairs until she came to the source of the voices, a room labelled 'security'.

There was a small window on the metal door that Kim had to stand on the tips of her toes to peer into. It was indeed a security room. Squinting, through the wire inside the glass, Kim could see _so_ many televisions _all_ with different rooms, floors and wherevers on screen. The walls of televisions went on forever and ever, stretching high and far. But it wasn't just televisions inside, there were two henchmen in there, leaning back on their chairs with food and drink. Instead of watching the screens, they were watching a small television set with a football program airing. The tiny window was constraining her vision, but from what she _could_ see, was no Ron.

_Still_, she thought. _If I can take them out, I can look on the TVs _for_ Ron. _

With that plan, Kim burst into the room with high-kicking action, giving both men near heart attacks and struck at them brutally: hitting, kicking and punching in a mad furious flurry until both dropped to the floor, unconscious and then some. They weren't the same men Kim had encountered before, but it still gave her some kind of satisfaction for losing the previous fight.

Huffing from the furious work-out, Kim took a second to regain her breath._ Now… gotta find Ron because…_Kim glanced at the clock and her eyebrows nearly flew off her face. _Cause I'm _running out of time

Kim ran to the monitors, starting high up as she began to check each and every one. It wasn't easy because not only were there so _many_, but some of them kept changing images too! She tried to scan as quickly as possible but so far, there wasn't any sight of Ron.

_No, no, no…_Kim thought as she scanned each one and could locate no Ron. _Wait!_

There he was, but…Kim frowned, so was she. Then it hit her that this was a previously recorded video of the both of them before they had been separated. When it came to a certain point in the recording, the video replayed itself, as did a few of the others on screens next to it.

_Odd._

But it didn't concern her. To the side were more videos, they were the same as the prerecordings but in infrared.

_These guys sure don't slack on security, do they?_ Kim shook her head and was about to return to the videos recording the present and scan for Ron again when something on the infrared videos caught Kim's eye. She wasn't particularly sure _why_ it caught her attention but it did.

Bringing a finger close to her lip, Kim leaned forwards and studied the video. It was of her and Ron walking up the stairs, probably near the beginning of their trudge. The thing that caught her attention was that the blotch of red heat in her stomach area was larger than Ron's. His was barely a dot. Hers was… different. It was shaped different too.

Kim furrowed her brows at this, studying the image as the video replayed itself once coming to its end. She stood there, studying the heat differences on the video for far too long. The video replayed itself over five times before Kim finally drew back.

She wasn't sure why she found interest in this, but it disturbed her. Yes, that's the word she was looking for. Disturbing. And why? Just because she was warmer than Ron in the stomach?

_There's no need to even consider wigging out here, Possible,_ she told herself. Even though she wasn't sure what she was supposed to be considering wigging out about. Yet _still_, it ensnared her attention to a level of grim fascination.

Kim turned to some of the other infrared videos of her and Ron. It was the same. Both her and Ron were slightly inconsistent but Ron always more so than herself. For some reason she found herself growing frantic and she turned once again to the first infrared video of the both of them walking up the stairs. She stared hard at herself, and felt the distinct revolting feeling of adrenaline surging within her.

Unsure how, Kim finally broke away from the video. She glued her eyes to the floor, convincing herself it was the most fascinating thing she had ever beheld. While her eyes played into this ruse, her mind did not.

_It's nothing, I'm just warmer there, so what?_ Her thoughts raced. _Calm down, calm down, CALM DOWN!_ Her head lifted in a flurry, she was sure it was going to return to that accursed video, but her eyes stopped in midway and instead rested on her bare stomach.

_Was it something I ate? _She pondered. _Had I been running around more than Ron? _She couldn't help it, she couldn't control herself; Kim picked up a shaking gloved hand and placed it on her stomach. For some reason, she found herself laughing nervously while she stood there alone. _Yea, see? Hehe, I didn't swallow a bomb, no ticking, no tocking…_ She calmed her nervousness, rubbing her padded hand over her revealing stomach. _Nothing to worry about…_

Yet she shivered again and couldn't chase away the feeling that there _was_ indeed something to the greater warmth. Eyes returning to the video, she watched it for another five runs, maybe more when a thought brutally slapped her mind.

Hadn't she seen..? In class..? In _science_ class..? The shape..?

_No. Way._

Wiggling her fingers, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the Kimmunicator.

"Wade?"

"What's up, Kim?" Wade asked, sipping from some bubble tea.

"Can I ask you a completely hypothetical question?"

Wade paused and seemed to take a long time to judge Kim. "Yea… hypothetical… okay…"

"Ok, so," Kim began, anxiously pushing some hair out of her face and hunched over the Kimmunicator. "Hypothetically speaking, let's say Ron ate Rufus."

"…"

"And he ate him _alive_. Like, he swallowed him alive, didn't chew him or-"

"Kim! Mental images here!"

"Right, ok, so Ron swallowed Rufus alive. Using some of that infrared technology type stuff… would Rufus show up in Ron's stomach? Like… lots of red?"

"Of course," Wade nodded rigidly, still looking at Kim as if he might need to make a 'special' phone call. "All living things generate heat. Even if Rufus' inside Ron, he'd still be living. Well, not really… I imagine Ron's stomach acid would slowly deteriorate Rufus and… ack, oh, gees, Kim! You got me doing it now!" and he blanched.

Kim ignored him, "One more question… hypothetically speaking," (Wade raised an eyebrow) "Ron ate Rufus again. But he eats him dead. Like he cooked him. But not so he's hot. Like room temp, right? If Ron ate Rufus dead, would Rufus still generate any heat from inside Ron?"

"Kim… has Ron, uh… taken up any new 'hobbies' I should know about..? Whoah, wait a second, was I wrong about the bulimia! Does this have to do with Ron's '_problem_'?"

"Tchach," Kim replied with frustration, "Just answer my question! It's _hypo_, remember?"

"No, he wouldn't."

Kim's frustration slipped from her instantly. It felt like Wade had just slapped her right across the face. A haunted look masked her face as she felt a churning pit in her stomach gnaw at her flesh in reaction to Wade's response.

"I… oh." She mumbled, returning her gaze to herself on the infrared video. Kim felt her eyes begin to glaze over as she watched it a countless number of times, trying to comprehend if what that little itch in the back of her mind could be correct even if Wade had basically said it was.

_But… but it can't be… It… It just can't be… No…_

"Kim? Kim is everything okay?" Wade looked at Kim through the Kimmunicator's screen as minutes had passed without any response. "Kim, Kim what's wrong? Ki—"

But Kim had shut off the Kimmunicator and placed it back into her pocket. Her eyes still on the video feed replaying over and over and over… Kim gently raised a gloved hand and placed it upon her bare stomach… right over the spot that the heat was emitting from on the video.

Still entranced from the video, the sentence repeated over and over in Kim's mind just as the video replayed in front of her:

_This can't be right._


	13. Distancing Oneself

A thanks to my wonderful,_wonderful_reviewers: conan98002, Ficticiousgrl, DigiSam, JPMod, Classic Cowboy, John Steppenwolf, Ultimate Naco Topping, thsunami, techgeekster, Rufus 986, akemi, Ezbok58a, Dragonslayer527, bAybee Kay, Jak4, Ace Ian Combat, LJ Fan, momike, BrattyBrina, memoirs of a faded memory, Cold-Chaos, Yankee Bard, blondegirlshavefun, nessa92, The Infernal, ZDafara470, Larie-chan, S. Snake, Forlong, Winter Sunflowers, Gryfffinrose, qtpie235, Razzle Jazzle, Dr. Cube, rachel lupin, Stoppable-san, chao-hellsing, MichaelCross, eViLrEadEr, Char & Loo (so I was out walking one day and I saw Ron out hoeing the dudes at the ranch again. In fact, you were there, as were Angel and Ruthie. Kim was on the veranda having her Bimbo Bread & Horniman's Tea, keeping a tab on her man as usual with her 'I HEART NICKY-NICK' cap. I was quite offended none of you invited me over. But I guess I was too busy anyway finding ourselves a suitable Drakken for our Great Free Ayumi (miss)understood Concert Plan. We'll get there even if we have to swim the Pacific Ocean- OMG MY MEMORIAL ADDRESS CD FELL ONTO THE FLOOR JUST NOW FOR REAL AND ALMOST BROKE 80;;;;;;;;;;;;; Think it's a sign? o-O;;)

**LJ Fan**- thank-you for being so observant. I was wondering if anyone would pick up on that. sorry about my update timing though, hopefully this one's better!

* * *

¤ Instalment 13 »» _Distancing Oneself _¤ 

And I wish that you were here with me

And I wish that somehow things could change

You'd lose your fear of me

And I feel that things might be okay

Oh, wouldn't that be strange?

-Danny Elfman, '_The Last Time_'

* * *

Ron Stoppable had stopped struggling a long time ago now that he was tethered by the restaurant's bar to the floor. The henchmen had carried him for what seemed like hours and had threatened to toss him down the stairs if he continued to struggle. So Ron stopped, that and he had little to no energy left anyway. You would have thought with his feet and hands tethered, it would allow him some time to regain energy for when Kim came to rescue him (which he had ultimate faith that she would), but his heart was too busy pounding against his rib cage and the adrenaline pumping inside of him. For he wasn't just on the _floor_ but rather on two feet of glass that _was_ the floor; Ron was forced to look down… down… _down_ the one-hundred and eighty storey tall building to the ground bellow. Ron had mentioned to Kim he was afraid of heights, hadn't he? 

When the henchmen had brought him to the restaurant at the top of the Tower, he had been greeted by not only _more_ henchmen, but all the captives as well. The captured staff and guests had crowded towards Ron as much as they were allowed to investigate on what was going on. Once the henchmen dumped Ron onto the glass floor, he had tried to scramble away and even fight back by kicking and scratching, but in the end, there were too many and too strong. Not before long, Ron found himself bound and useless.

At least he could hear. And what he did hear was _not_ good. First he had heard the crackling of a walkie-talkie and some muffed voice coming from it. But then the henchman said to another: "She's going on in twenty minutes."

_Twenty mins, oh dang!_ Ron thought frantically. _Kim had better get up here soon… what could be taking her and Rufus so long? I know she's okay…_

Ron looked down again at the view below. It utterly petrified him that it kept his heart beating and a speedy rate which was confusing his over-frantic brain. This rendered any hope of forming an escape plan futile. Even though there were so many people up there with him that were on his side, he wouldn't be able to count on them to do anything. They too were being guarded by the beefy, professional-trained henchmen (Hench Co. henchmen were no laughing deal). All captives were herded together and surrounded, much like sheep huddled together against sheep dogs. Ron's only hope was to wait for Kim.

Too bad he didn't know Kim was currently stunned into a literal state of shock and was climbing the stairs slowly and gradually; all reasons for being in the Tower in the first place, including her mission and even Ron's capture was forgotten to her.

Ron again attempted another struggle against his binds while he tried to imagine the view below was just a television screen. He felt the sense of vertigo reel in his mind as he looked down at the concrete and crowd below. Fat chance. _Maybe I should have kept Rufus with me instead and I'd be outta this mess by now!_

"Hey! It's her!" A henchman shouted from behind Ron.

Instantly, Ron's eyes leapt open and he struggled, although he already knew it was useless, to look at something other than the scenery below the Tower. Gritting his teeth, Ron strained to see _something_. His next best view was the bottom of the bar he was tethered to.

_Is that you, KP?_

"I thought you killed her!" another called out.

"Well I _thought_ I did!" the other huffed back. "If I had known she was alive, I would have killed her properly, wouldn't I?"

"You just can't kill anyone properly, can you? Every time…"

While the henchmen bickered, Ron, who was still unable to see, was stretching his ears for some kind of sounds from Kim. Like, say, the whooshing of air when she'd leap in for a kick, the sound of her shoes slapping the glass floor as she ran across to deal the henchmen punches or at least a 'I'm coming to rescue you, Ron!' would have been substantial. But no. Ron heard nothing. He wouldn't have even known Kim (or anyone for that matter) was in the room if the henchmen hadn't had said anything. Now Ron was actually beginning to doubt her presence.

_Maybe they've been drinking. _Ron looked at his binds and realised the predicament he was in. _Oh, that's not a great thought._

Just in case maybe Kim really was there and was searching for him, he decided to cry out her name, "Kim! Kim, I've been captured! You gotta rescue me, I can't—" No response. "Kim! Yo, Kimila, you there or what? I'm over here, Kim..?"

The only noises Ron could hear were the continuing banter of the henchmen (they couldn't be very expensive henchmen if they were this lax) coupled with some gasps and shuffling of the cornered guests and staff.

"KP..?" he whined a little more softly, not expecting a reply.

Then he almost had a heart attack when he felt a gentle hand come to rest on his shoulder. He gasped loudly, his body jolting, but then became pacified when he felt some sense enter his mind whispering to him that it _was_ Kim present at his side. He wasn't sure how his mind knew, it just… seemed to recognise her. Yet she still said nothing, nor could he see her.

"Kim…" he whispered, not wanting to attract the henchmen. "I heard the henchdudes speaking and they say Adrena's gonna start her show, like, soon! Ya gotta do something or somewhat. I can help if you," he pulled against his bonds, but it was no use. "Help me."

"I…"

Her voice. Ron's ears picked up on her tone of voice and he then began to realise something was not right with her.

"Kim..?"

"I can't…" It was barely a whisper on Kim's tongue.

"W-what do you mean?" Ron asked tentatively, his brow furrowing. "You cut, or use your laser thingy and…"

Although Ron still could not see her, Kim was shaking her head slowly. "I can't, Ron… I can't…"

"Can't what? Whatta you talkin' about, KP? Of course you can! You can do anything, remember? If you can do anything I should think you can undo a silly knot…" he chuckled nervously but had the sneaking suspicion Kim was on about something else.

He felt her hand still resting on his shoulder run the length of his arm slowly. It confused Ron and caused him to shiver.

"Are you feeling ok?" he asked her in a low voice. "Just… help me out here and then I'll help you with whatever ok? The world can wait to be saved, I'm a little worried about you ri—"

"No. There's nothing wrong with me, Ron. Don't even say that."

"Um, ok."

"HEY!" a henchman finally interrupted the others conversation and screamed. "She's trying to release the buffoon! GET HER!"

"Heeey, only Drakken calls me that!"

Ron could feel Kim's movements for she was so close, and could feel the breeze as she whipped around.

"What's going on!" Ron blurted out. He could hear the sound of the henchmen coming closer… and it sounded like they were coming _fast_ too. "Kim, you gotta fight back, what's wr—"

"They wouldn't… they wouldn't hurt me…"

"Uh, what do you think conked you out, huh! They were just talking about _killing_ you!" Ron was beginning to lose his cool with Kim's wishy-washy attitude. "_Do something!_"

And instead of standing up, preparing herself to fight back like Ron was hoping her too, he felt Kim press herself closer to him. Ron was aghast and confounded by Kim's behaviour. What happened to her when they left her for dead? Did… a horrible flashback hit Ron. The one that happened years ago, when they were on the mission inside the scientist's lab hunting down the cat burglar and what he _thought_ had happened to Kim… Maybe…

The pounding sounds of the henchmen running towards the both of them were louder and they'd be on them in just a few quick seconds when…

_CRACK!_

"What the!"

"AAAH!"

"OHMIGOSH!"

"GET THEM!"

"GET _THEM_!"

"VIVA LA RESISTANCE!"

"What's going on?" Ron yelled out to Kim over the sudden clatter that was now breaking out. Kim had said nothing and was clinging to Ron's arm with her two hands, she was sitting, pressing against him which was kind of uncomfortable since she was sort of pinning him against the bar he was tethered to.

"They're…" Kim murmured.

"Fight back!"

"Get the prisoners! We can hold them again! Chuck them out the window if you have to!"

To Ron it sounded like…

There was more cracking sounds of wood being shattered, grunts and growls of people viciously fighting, sounds of wine bottles from the bar being smashed and all around general discord.

"The other prisoners are they… they're fighting back! You distracted the henchmen guarding them, KP! Alright, way to go!"

Yet Kim _still_ said nothing and as Ron saw shadows whip in and out of his vision, he could only feel Kim pinning herself closer to Ron. It didn't seem like she'd be coming back to reality anytime soon. If so, it was a good thing Rufus had poked his head out of Kim's pocket when the noise began to escalate. Ron wasn't even aware of his little pal's presence until Rufus crawled over Ron and onto his face (there was no room to stand in front of Ron for Kim was still pressing Ron against the table of the bar).

"Rufus!" Ron exclaimed in a whisper. "Can you help me loose?"

"Ahuh, ok!" Rufus saluted and ran over to the rope binding Ron's wrists to began gnawing them.

While Rufus was busy in untying Ron, Ron was doing his best to ignore the view below and instead focus on the raucous all around them. At least he and Kim were safe for the time being, he could still feel Kim constantly flinching next to him.

_What in the world happened to her!_ He thought.

Meanwhile, the sounds of the fight were heightening and some glasses were shattering a little closer to home than what Ron would have liked. He even had the displeasure of whatever alcoholic drink had been in a nearby shattered glass speckle his face and even land in his mouth to which he blanched, repulsed.

Right when Rufus was done untying Ron, he scooped up his mole-rat with one hand then grabbed Kim's wrist with the other and proceeded to make a beeline for the other side of the room. Ducking low, he streaked across the battlefield, avoiding flying tables, flying cutlery and flying people. It was Ron's plan to go unnoticed and successfully sneak Kim out the window so she could stop Adrena-Lynn at the top of the Tower before it was too late.

Luckily enough, there was a table still standing and Ron bent down, hiding himself, Rufus and Kim behind it. He waited a few moments for some fight to pass them by before he stood up, Kim stood up with him, to confront their next obstacle.

"We gotta break this window some how…" Ron mumbled and tapped the glass.

It was then that some unknown person or persons from behind Ron chucked one of the burly henchmen right over Ron's head meaning he went straight through the window. It created a nice person-sized hole too.

"Now that's convenience!" Ron grinned, not at all worried about the henchman's grisly fate. He held onto to corners of the glass and poked his head out. Instantly he felt the cold wind breeze buffet his face that he had not felt while on the ground. "Ok, KP, you gotta slip outta there and stop Adrena-Lynn! I'll stay here and—"

"No."

Ron pulled his head back in. "What do you mean, 'No.'?"

"I'm not going out there."

Ron stood, absolutely befuddled as he stared hard at Kim in front of him. "So… like, you have a plan for luring her inside then?"

Kim cast her head away, no longer looking Ron in the eyes. She was staring down at the glass floor, seeing the landscape far below. Kim had no fear of heights, she was agile and a good climber; no, it wasn't the height that was bothering her at all. Her eyes wandered from the ground far, far below to… to her belly.

"You have to do it," she said.

"What!" Ron almost burst apart. "What do you mean I gotta do it, huh!"

"I… I can't, Ron," Kim murmured while staring hard elsewhere.

"Y'know, you've been saying that a lot recently and I don't like it one bit. You can do _anything_, remember? You can climb the rope in gym class up and down in seventeen seconds, I'm sure climbing to the top of a hundred-eighty plus storey building should be no big for you, c'mon."

But Kim was continually shaking her head, the longer she shook, the more defiant she became. "I can't, Ron. Not this time, not now… I have… No…"

"Kim, I… I _can't_ do it," Ron spoke. He tried to catch Kim's eyes, but every time he made an attempt, she turned away from him. "Kim, I'm afraid of heights! I'll fall, I'll _so_ fall, KP, I _so_ will! Kim… please… you gotta save the world again. Don't make me save it."

Ron's constant appeals troubled Kim, although she didn't necessarily feel Ron's exact level of distraught. She was far too wrapped up in her own anxieties to truly acknowledge how terrified Ron was of climbing out that window. How could she go out there and battle Adrena-Lynn on top of this Tower when she had suspicions on what resided _inside_ her?

"Kim, you're not listening to me," Ron began to whine. "What's wrong? You wanna take a time out and talk this out- oh wait, we can't. Cos Adrena-Lynn goes cross-country in, like, now!" Still Kim did not respond. "Just do it, Kim," then he tried to get in behind her, place his hands on her back and lightly push her towards the hole in the window.

Kim allowed herself to be pushed a few inches before her brain kicked in and she backtracked, nearly stumbling. "No! No, Ron, you have to…"

"KP, this—"

"You _have_ to, I can't, I—"

"Is this a 'girl' thing?"

"What do you mean by that!"

"Kim, I'm not going to argue with you—"

"Look," Kim broke in, now looking him square in the eyes and saying emotionally: "Please, Ron. I really need your help. _Will you help me?_"

This halted Ron's objections. _His_ help, she _needed_ his help. She wasn't demanding it, wasn't shoving him out the window like in the past. Asking. His eyes darted to the lanyard-bracelet on her wrist, almost hidden by her gloves. He eyed her warily, _maybe she really is changing this time_. _Maybe she's actually keeping her promises this time 'round. Even when she's all… distressed and not thinking clearly._

Ron looked abashed and guilty. "You _really_ need me to do this..?" he asked softly. "You're not just… like, tricking me into doing this because you don't feel like it or something? It's… it's important?"

Kim looked down while she fiddled with her fingers. "Yes. It really is. I can't, please…"

It was Ron's turn to cast his head away. "Alright, alright, ok. I g-guess… I can do this." Ron looked down and froze with terror as he saw the great distance below. With his teeth clenched, he hissed, "I. Can. Do. This."

He turned around mechanically, rigid as if he was walking to the guillotine itself. Ron gripped the glass to pull himself to crouch on the width of the glass. He held onto the glass so tightly that it sliced through his gloves and cut his skin. Now he really felt the wind buffet his face. It played with his blonde bangs, causing them to fly all across his face and even whip his eyes. Ron didn't dare look down, he knew that the instant he did, he'd lose his firm grip on the glass and tip forwards and… He didn't plan on greeting the henchman that flew out the window any day soon.

"Ron…"

Ron turned his head around before opening his eyes and saw that Kim was handing him her grappling hook. Making sure one hand was firmly attached to the glass, Ron let go with the other and took the grappling hook from her. Craning his neck up and seeing the great height still to go, Ron had a small spell of vertigo and nearly fell off, but he gripped the glass tighter, blood oozing from his clenched fist, and took aim with the grappling hook onto the pole piercing the sky atop the Tower. The hook whizzed forwards, the backlash unsettling Ron's balance slightly. But he soon heard the sound of it latching onto something with a _clang!_. He pulled on the cord to test the security a few times before giving Kim one last look.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked again. "Like, are you _positive_ you're positive?"

Kim was staring hard at the floor, but Ron could still see her cheeks flushing. It only worried him more and he couldn't wait for this mission to be over so he could actually talk to Kim. That initial thought of what might have happened to her came back to mind and he shuddered violently.

"I'll be back, erm, soon, KP. I'll do my best, ok?"

"Ok." Again, she didn't even look at him.

"Just sit down and, uh, like, don't get seen, right?"

"Right."

"Coolness, check ya soon."

Making sure the cord of the grappling hook was tight, Ron shuffled himself around and (after sucking in a deep breath and vowing _not_ to look down) leaned himself _out_ of the hole. He felt the cold night air wrap around him completely and how strongly the wind pushed against him. His teeth chattered involuntarily and felt the rubber at the bottom of his shoes begin to squeak and desire to slip under the glass.

Wishing his Mystical Monkey Power would aid him, Ron dared the leap off of the glass and into the dark blue night, he swayed minimally against the wind, but before it could buffet him completely to one side, he hit the retract button on the grappling hook and soon felt himself being pulled up and into the sky. Higher, higher, and higher Ron went, with his eyes tightly shut; it began to feel like he'd never reach the end of the hook's line. How far was Ron really going? As time passed and Ron knew he was going higher, he began to wonder if he'd really have the bravery to face Adrena-Lynn way up here. Come to think of it, what in the world was he supposed to do once he met up with her?

Finally Ron felt himself hit surface of the sphere and knew he was now nearing the top. Venturing open eyes, Ron could actually see the back of Adrena-Lynn as she stood, with no support, at the base of the antennae. Perhaps she hadn't even noticed the grappling hook latching onto the base of the antennae behind her. As Ron's body slid upwards on the sphere, he pushed his legs forwards so he was standing and ran up the rest of the way. When he was finally at the top, Ron bee-lined for the antennae straight away for the centre of the Tower, the antennae, (which was the safest spot), the furthest away from any edge in case of a slip…

The sounds of Ron's footsteps hitting the surface finally attracted Adrena-Lynn and she whipped around in initial surprise. Ron had been detaching the hook from the Tower when he too froze. For a few moments, the just stared at each, the wind rippling both of their long, blonde, front bangs across their faces.

"Um," Ron said, fumbling with the grappling hook. "Hi."

"Wait, I know you," Adrena-Lynn sneered and placed her hands on her hips. "You're that… that…"

"Guy?"

"Yes, that guy who…"

"Exposed you for a fraud?"

"Yes! Years back, you and that girl…"

"Kim Possible?"

"Yes. So that makes you…"

"Ron Stoppable?"

"I guess," Adrena shrugged and tossed her head to one side. Ron glared at her. "What _are_ you doing up here anyway? Of all the places to meet you, I wouldn't think this would be one of them."

"Me either," Ron agreed sincerely.

"Have you come for a better seat to watch the show?" she began to smirk slyly, unsettling Ron. "Have you come to witness my beautiful performance as I leap from the top of this building and survive! Then to gain the adoration and applause of this country! Think of it… think of how, just mere seconds from now, I will be famous again…"

Ron just stood there and blinked a few times through the hair rippling across his face. "I suppose."

"What do you _mean_ you suppose?" Adrena-Lynn spat, "Don't you ever dream of being surrounded by fans, the constant flashing of cameras snapping your picture, being all over the magazines…"

"So you're really just, like, gonna leap off with no support? Don't know how you can survive that…"

"Because you can't! Of course not." Adrena-Lynn strolled forwards, her extreme high-heels clacking on the surface as she neared Ron. She reached forwards and picked up, what looked like to Ron, thin air. But when Adrena lifted what was in her hands higher, he saw a kind of thick, nearly invisible tether line. "I'll be secure," she said. "But they won't know it."

"So it's like a magic trick," Ron replied.

A clever smile crossed Adrena-Lynn's face. "_Exactly_. You see? Nothing wrong here? Magicians do this thing all the time. They don't really cut their apprentices in half, there's always a trick." Then she asked in a sweetly-false voice, "What's so wrong about that?"

This logic was actually confusing Ron's mind, because… it actually made sense. "N-nothing…"

Adrena nodded, that fake smile of hers never leaving her face. "Exactly. No need to worry. No need to stop my stunt."

"Yea but, you didn't have to steal this Tower," Ron narrowed his eyes. "I don't think they're going to forgive you for locking in the people for this!"

"It's only for everyone's safety, after all, we don't want…" And then Ron noticed Adrena-Lynn's eyes sweep away from him, something light in her eyes, and then slowly, stealthily, sweep back onto him. The look in her eyes did not put Ron at ease. "We don't want copy-cats imitating my stunt, do we?

"N-no…"

Anxiously, Ron took two steps backwards away from Adrena-Lynn and then regretted it. She began to walk towards him, slowly. "We don't want… silly… boys climbing to this Tower, right? Don't want silly, _fanboys_ coming up here to mimic me… or think they can help me…"

"Um… isn't it too late for that?" He eyed her boots coming closer and closer. "Y-you're going on tv in a few mins, right? Who's going to come up here in that short time? Heh… it wasn't exactly easy getting up here either, so um…"

"But who's _already here_?"

"Huh! Wha!" Ron looked about himself franticly and of course saw no-one other than himself and the stunt woman. "Well, um…"

"Because…" she placed her hands upon her hips again and eyed him up and down. "Wouldn't it be _tragic_ if, say, someone fell _off_ the Tower by accident?"

"Well, _yeah_."

"Yes," Adrena-Lynn nodded and continued to talk to him as if she was talking to a small child. "It would really be awfully sad. But isn't that what the news people like?"

"Like what!" Ron yelped, taking another couple of steps backwards and again cursed himself for nearing the edge of the sphere.

"They like a good daring story—I can see it now!"

"I don't and I don't think I'd like to!"

"A boy falls off the top of the Tower! And then the brave… _heroic_ Adrena-Lynn swoops down and saves him just before he hits concrete! What a thrilling news story! Think of the _coverage_! Think of the press, the… the interviews and attraction…"

"Yea... okay… I'm all in favour of that and especially the whole 'saving the boy' part, I just kind of have a problem with the 'falling off the Tower' part, really," he laughed nervously. In an attempt to near the centre again, Ron inched to his left and moved slightly forwards that way—still putting distance between he and Adrena-Lynn.

Adrena-Lynn nodded, "Yes but it'd only be for a few minutes, right? Like jumping off a diving board at the swimming pool."

"I'm not really a 'diving board' type of guy…"

"But you'd live… and you'd have a few minutes of fame too."

As Adrena-Lynn predicted, the 'fame' note struck a cord inside Ron.

"Oh? Yea?"

"Mm'h'mm," she nodded slowly, still coming closer. "Of course! People would _love_ to hear of the story about your near-death incident and how _I_! _I_, Adrena-Lynn, saved you in the nick of time! How FREAKY!"

Ron was about to open his mouth, perhaps to strike a bargain with her when he suddenly remembered Adrena-Lynn's track record.

_What are you doing, Stoppable!_ He thought to himself. _She could be lying!_ _She might not even catch you, she might miss! And… And Kim! She wouldn't be too happy about this and… and she needs me right now! _Yes! _She counting on me, she _asked _me to be up here to _help _her!_

"Ok, no way!" Ron blurted out and took an intimidating stamp _towards_ Adrena-Lynn. "Nu-uh, that's not gonna happen! A lot of people are gonna get hurt down in the building by your hired hench people," then his mind flashed to Kim and his eyes lit with anger, "_Including Kim_!" he spat. "She asked me to come up here cos she couldn't _because of you_! I'm not going to let her down if I expect her never to let me down!"

"Oh, yawn," Adrena-Lynn covered a mock yawn with her hand. "Going for the _glory_ approach are we? It doesn't work on you."

Ron narrowed his eyes further and began to feel a toiling hatred for this woman in front of him. "Look, you're getting down without doing this stupid stunt."

"And how are you going to make me?" Adrena laughed shrilly, her eyes teasing Ron. "You? Little shrimpy you? Why, I can't even tell it's been two years since I last saw you!" and she let out another shrill of laughter.

But Ron smirked. "I know one way to bring you down." Then in a flash, he leapt towards the center of the sphere, right next to the antennae. In his leap, he scooped up the fallen grappling hook and raised it into the hair and brought it down on the invisible rope tied around the antennae to hack at it.

"NO!" Adrena-Lynn screamed and she too, flew to the centre at Ron and fought to knock the grappling hook out of his hand.

"Ergh!" Ron fell to the ground as she bowled him over. As she did, the grappling hook skidded out of his hands and across the sphere. With the two on the ground, Ron twisted his neck to see where the grappling hook had fallen, it was his only device of cutting the rope and if he cut the rope, there was no way Adrena-Lynn would be able to survive her stunt. She'd have no choice but to come down.

A strangled gasp came from Ron's throat when he spotted the grappling hook so far away… and so near slipping right off the top of the Tower. Adrena-Lynn spotted it too and since she was on top of Ron, she was able to leap for it first, Ron quickly followed. He slipped by Adrena and grabbed it, any further weight distribution and it would have fallen right off. Ron clenched his teeth as he pulled the hook out from the canon and tried to slash away at Adren'a rope.

She screamed in rage and dealt him a kick right in his stomach with her high heel. The blow knocked the wind from him and he flew across the sphere. Petrified that he might slip right off, he franticly scrabbled at the surface, slowing his skid across the top. Gasping with relief as he came to a halt, he reached for the hook, and dashed once again towards Adrena-Lynn.

"Stop it!" she shrieked. "I-if you break this rope, I'll never be able to come down!"

"That's the point!" he grunted back as he furiously weaved in and out of Adrena-Lynn's punches, kicks and grabs. "Augh!" he cried as she reached for the hook and the two again fell to the surface.

"Don't you _dare_ think of ruining this!" Adrena lifted up her heeled boot and punted Ron in the stomach again, he groaned, fell backwards, but did not let go of the hook, neither did she. "If I don't follow through, they won't understand the _reason_ I cut off the Tower from everyone else!"

"No, you're right! They'll just see you for what you really are!" Ron spat back and lashed out with a kick of his own.

As they tussled, neither of them were willing to let go of the hook and Ron soon became aware that they were nearing the edge and he began to panic. Adrena was noticing this too and it was to her advantage as Ron's back was to the edge, Adrena's to the center.

"I've had it with you ruining my stunts!" she shrilled, "All you do is get in the way!"

Ron's eyes flew apart as this sentence rang with remembrance in his mind. It was all the time Adrena-Lynn needed, growling, she lifted her leg and dealt Ro a brutal blow to the face.

"GAAHH!" Ron screamed with pain and felt blood begin to ruin down his check, thickly too. Adrena-Lynn's blow was fast and forceful, so forceful that the grappling hook slipped from her very own hands.

Ron's brain was attacked by countless alarums: he had the grappling hook! The rope was near! One more slash ought to kill it! And… _I'm slipping!_ 'What to do!' His mind would have screamed if he had even enough time to think that. But Ron didn't and instinct took hold of him instead. Yet, it wasn't the instinct he would have guessed, the first instinct was to Kim, to the mission for her, instead of using the valuable seconds that was slipping him down to scrabble back up and save himself. Instead, he took advantage of the hook in his hands and the nearby rope to slash it once and for all.

It didn't matter that along with Adrena-Lynn's scream came one final kick of vengeance to his face that knocked him away from the sphere's edge and into the air, he wouldn't have had the time to safe himself _and_ cut the rope anyway.

Of course, he fell.

-ø-

And then someone screamed. It was a most shrilling, blood-shivering, heart-stopping scream and it came from a woman just behind Kim. Kim's mind was still worlds away but somehow the scream just barely penetrated her brain and she turned around slowly, her eyes glazed. And she… just in time… to see Ron falling… falling outside the window…

Although Kim was too deeply in her world of shock to know, but the battle had ended awhile ago against the henchmen versus the brave trapped staff and guests. They had out-numbered the henchmen and won the battle. Now, even though they were all free to leave, all the trapped people had gathered by the windows to try and see or hear what had been going on at the top of the Tower. There was a giant video screen on a nearby building that had been broadcasting the events on the ground. But now the camera was pointing upwards at something falling from the top of the Tower, from above the restaurant. Even though Ron had sped past the window, a camera below on the ground was filming his drop… but Kim didn't even need to look at him on the screen. All she had to do was look down at the glass floor to see Ron continue his plummet. He had nothing to save himself. There was no grappling hook, no jetpack, no… no Kim.

It was then that Kim's jaw slid open slightly as more reality was able to slip under the crack in Kim's mind, beneath the door that was shutting out all of the outside world. Ron was falling. Falling from the top of the Tower and… he'd die.

People were screaming all around Kim, pointing at Ron. But Kim was silent and she dropped to her knees, sprawling her gloved palms onto the glass and watched Ron's body diminish in size and then… stop. He had hit the concrete. Kim was far too beyond stunned to move. Her eyes were as wide as they could become, horror shimmering in what she had seen. The moment that he did hit the ground, her mind shuddered violently; it almost felt like vibration of some kind and a small space in the side of Kim's mind became bleak. But because her mind was already frozen, she barely felt it even though it had been an intense depletion. Down on the ground, a crowd was slowly, tentatively, forming around Ron's fallen body.

Standing up, Kim turned calmly and quietly towards the elevator. The elevator was now operational for after the henchmen had been dealt with, a group of previously captive staff had gone to turn the power back on. She waited for the elevator to reach the floor and walked inside, her eyes still gazed and her brain numb with all that was weighed upon her mind. The peril of Ron's fall still had barely touched her mind, all she now knew, was she had to go to him. She still wasn't able to understand that when she did, Ron would be dead.

Kim landed on the ground floor and stoically walked out of the building. Automatically, her feet carried her over to the massive crowd outside the Tower that was now gathered. An ambulance was even driving up already, the lights of the siren were now blaring into Kim's eyes. They were successfully calling her mind slightly forwards and she began to comprehend that they were going to take Ron away from her.

_No!_

She jogged forwards, she wouldn't run, and pushed herself weakly through the crowd until she made it to the front and…

Kim gasped silently and felt her heart thud against her ribs. An indescribable feeling seized her body and she stumbled forwards. The police were blocking people from coming any closer, but Kim didn't even seem to notice them as she stumbled blindly forwards. At first the police tried to block her even though she leaned against them, straining to be closer to Ron. But the police chief recognised her from before and allowed her to pass.

Standing over Ron's body, she knew instantly he was dead.

His head was haloed in a pool of thick, blood, his arms were bent in shapes that they shouldn't be in, as was his back. It was a grisly sight for anyone to behold, let alone Kim who was so connected to this dead body. For the second time, Kim fell to her knees and stared at him. She didn't even cry, she could only stare, long and hard at his face, his eyes closed… it… it reminded her of when he had been in the coma and how peaceful he had looked then. His face was covered in scratches; Kim reached out for his cheek and stroked him lightly.

She was dimly aware of the paramedics pushing their way through the crowd with the stretcher for him, no… it was a body bag.

"We're going to have to take him now," a soft voice spoke soothingly in Kim's ear.

But she shook her head and ran a hand through his hair and when she pulled her hand away, it was masked in sticky blood. Kim stared at the blood on her glove; it was so difficult for her to understand that this blood… _this blood on her palm_ was Ron's.

"No," Kim said. Then, leaning forwards, she scooped up his body, his broken body. Already she could feel the broken bones inside of him begin to slide around. It was a sickly feeling and she nearly blanched forwards, but she shoved it into the back of her mind. "We're going home." Then she turned and walked away, the crowd parting to allow her and her friend passage.

She thought maybe the paramedics would try to stop her, but they didn't. No-one followed them at all. So Ron had done what he had set out to do. He had foiled Adrena-Lynn's plans, who'd be interested in her now that she caused the death of this boy? It came at such a grisly price. All because Kim asked Ron to do this for her.

Kim walked through the street, not even aware of all the eyes staring at her. She didn't care. When she came to the third bus stop, she stopped and waited for a bus. Kim didn't know where she was going, she only wanted to get away from the Tower, go some place where she could no longer see it. Somewhere where she could be alone and tend to Ron.

They didn't have to wait long for a bus to arrive. Stepping on the nearly deserted bus, she hid Ron into her chest, to hide his wounds and paid for herself and for Ron.

"He okay?" the bus driver asked, concerned.

"We're going to the Hospital," Kim lied.

"A taxi could get you there faster, he looks almost—"

"No money," she lied then headed to the back of the bus where the two could be alone.

Kim sat down in the corner at the very back and cradled Ron close to her. Looking down, she saw the blood still seeping from the back of Ron's head. It was now smearing in a clump on Kim's shirt, some of the blood trickled down her chests and onto her bare skin. It was warm against her skin, she watched the warm blood trickle down and then onto belly where it rested.

_Oh…_

Kim was still numb, staring down at his body in her arms. It was his _body_ but where was his _soul_? She was in such a state of shock, first her discovery and now Ron falling from a one-hundred and eighty story tower, that she wasn't even able to shed a single tear for him yet. All she could do was stare at his broken body. Even if he shifted in his arms, she could feel some of his broken bones shift inside his body. Tilting her head, Kim gazed at him… it looked almost like he was sleeping… But there was _nothing_ inside this human shell. Only bones, blood… no _life_. No _Ron_ who made this body _become_ Ron.

Propping his head up with her right arm, Kim reached out with her left, slipping off her glove with her teeth. Then she slipped her hand underneath Ron's shirt and placed her naked palm against Ron's bare chest, over his heart. She waited. There was no heartbeat. And still Kim did not cry. Instead she reached for his wrist and felt his pulse, only… there was none.

Ron truly was _dead_.

It felt like a nightmare, but it wasn't. It was very much real. Kim placed her left hand back underneath his knees to hold him properly and if she slipped her right arm to his back, his head hung limp, his jaw partly open, blood in his mouth, painted over his teeth.

_Dead_. She thought when thoughts were finally able to process within her mind. _He's dead after all we've been through… dead… I'm… I'm p…pr…_Her eyes skimmed his body and laid to rest on his fallen, emotionless face. _I'm pregnant with his baby and he's dead. Ron's dead…_

Finally.

Finally, one single tear was able to release itself as the cold numbness masking Kim slowly lifted and emotion was able to register and express itself properly.

"Ron…" She pressed a palm to his cheek still cold from the night air- it would become even colder still. He'd never be warm again.

She recalled when she thought he was dead after she had awoken from her trials within his very own mind. Kim had thought him dead then, but he had been alive. Yet this time… there was no mistake. He had no heartbeat, no pulse… no breath, nothing. His body was now only a sack of broken bones.

"He's dead…"

And her heartbeat raced faster and adrenaline began pumping inside. Kim felt the wave to cry wash over her but nothing came out. It seemed like that single tear was the only one able to escape.

_It's my fault you're dead, _she thought. _If I had been able to help you… or stop Adrena-Lynn myself, it wouldn't have been you here in my arms. I…Ron…I'll never be able to do you right, will I? Even when I thought I was doing the right thing by _asking

She leaned forwards, to study his silent face. As she leaned closer, she was able to see a slight blue tinge to Ron's skin. Confused and peering closer, she realised it wasn't a tinge to his skin, but rather a faint, barely visible radiant-blue glow around his face… no, not his face. Kim leaned back and realised the blue glow was now sweeping over his entire body and becoming stronger and brighter by the second.

"Ron..?"

And then suddenly he screamed.

She almost dropped him onto the bus floor in shock and recoil when Ron let out that horrific scream. The bus driver must have been surprised too for the bus served violently to the left, then right, then slightly to the left again.

"What's going on back there!" The bus driver yelled from the front.

_I don't know!_ Kim thought, her jaw dropped as she grappled to hang onto Ron's limp body and leaned back into her seat as she was allowed. Then something in the back of Kim's mind, that spot that had disappeared when Ron had hit the ground, suddenly burst open, sending an actual explosion in Kim's mind. It sent her leaning forwards and her jaw to drop. But then the shock of it was cleaned away as Ron continued to scream. The first scream had been the loudest, his head was tossed back, his eyes still shut as Ron let out more screams of… of _pain_. He was in pain!

_Of course he's in pain!_ Thought a corner of Kim's mind. _He's supposed to be _DEAD

"AAARRGGHHHAAAHH!" Ron belted out, "AAH. AAAAH. AAAAHHH!"

"Ron!" she was finally able to splutter. She looked down at his body helplessly as he brought up his crooked arms and his body began to wrack and shake, the blue glow radiating strengthening.

Then Kim caught a glimpse as Ron was throwing his head around wildly, almost in danger of cracking his skull (again!) to the window (not that it was supposed to matter!), of Ron barely, just _barely_, opening his eyes and when he did, her heart skipped a few beats.

"Ohh… ohh…" Ron's chest was now heaving rapidly as if he was suffocating. The blue glow was now the strongest as it thrummed and pulsated above Ron's chest, right over his heart. "ARRRGH OHHA AAHHH!" Ron let out again, now making sobbing, crying sounds even though there were no tears. His fingers curved as his arms convulsed wildly, he had no control, how could they move when the bones were supposed to be _shattered_! Ron made a constant gasping sound, like a fish out of water and his eyes rolled back. An arm smacked his own chest as if he had been attempting to clutch himself and he groaned and screamed, even some incoherent babble as if… as if he was trying to talk.

That was it; she had to take Ron off the bus.

"Uh, stop here, driver!" Kim yelled out to the bus driver and ran to the nearest doors. The bus driver gladly obliged.

"Hey, wait, come back!" he called, the dispatcher phone in his hands as Kim ran full force, forgetting about what might be inside her stomach for the first time, and away from the bus with Ron screaming in pain in her arms. It was so difficult to hold onto his body now that it was having a spasm and he kept slipping or throwing himself from her hold. Where she was going, Kim had _no_ idea. All she knew was that she needed to take Ron somewhere private.

_This can't be_, her mind raced with thoughts as he pumped her legs furiously as she streaked down the street, her feet slapping the puddles and messing up her cargo pants. _He was dead… he was so dead… He had no pulse, he had no_ heartbeat—

"AUUURRGGHh aaahaahh… ahhh… ahahaaahh…" Ron moaned and screamed with pain so severe, it was a pain that no-one alive would ever be able to feel. It was a pain beyond _any_ pain _anyone_ had ever felt in existence: this was pain the body was supposed to feel once it was dead. And now he had to _live_ and _feel_ that pain. His body twitched and convulsed in her arms as he threw his head back and continued to moan, the sobs layered underneath as if begging, pleading, for this pain to just _stop_.

Kim was frantic and barely took notice of the people walking down the streets to stare at the source of the noise. It was frightening, Ron's screams, they tore through the night, over the street noise too, his screams voicing the strength and weight of the pain in his body that only he could possibly know the lengths to. Kim could only surmise how much severity he was in from his blood-churning screams coming straight from his vocal cords, she was surprised they hadn't had snapped yet.

Not even knowing where she was going, Kim turned and ran down a darkened ally; all she wanted to do was escape everyone else and tend to Ron. Although she wasn't sure of how much help she would be. Running blindly into the ally, all she could hope for was that she had left the world behind.

Two tall buildings stretched on either side of Kim, allowing her for narrow space to run. There wasn't even a light lit in any of the windows, the only lights were those she left behind, and the barely visible ones at the other end. She ran past dumpsters and shadows, turning down one lane and then going down another, suddenly becoming lost in a labyrinth of ally ways. And although it finally seemed like she had truly left the world behind, Ron's pains were still with her.

He screamed over and over, the only way he could express the explosive pain. His screams made Kim delirious and almost dumb to the sound for it was so constant to her ears now.

Kim finally slowed down, taking in her surroundings for the first time. They were alone, or appeared to be, which was good enough for Kim. She walked until she found a pile of cardboard boxes just the right size for the both of them and crawled inside, bringing Ron with her. She laid him on the bottom as he tossed and turned; the inside reeked of alcohol, the putrid smell flamed up Kim's nostrils.

Kneeling beside Ron, she looked down at him, her eyes were now adjusted to the dark and combined with the city lights from far away, she was still able to see. Ron tossed from one side to the other as he moaned, eyes still shut.

"Ron…" Kim reached out a hand and gently placed it upon Ron's forehead. He had no fever. But that blue glow was still there. Now, in the darkness, it shone brighter. The glow wasn't hot, but it tickled slightly if Kim touched it.

Kim had no idea what was going on, she was still so shocked with the two close together events so she was left to sit on her knees over Ron and stare stupidly. The pain was constantly coursing through Ron's body and Kim didn't know why.

_It's not fair…_ she realised when all she could do was guard over Ron and stare. _He was dead and now he's alive, alive with the pain that was supposed to have killed him. The pain of having a shattered skull, internal bleeding, broken bones, gashes and aches and… it's not right. I…_ another tear slipped loose.

_I wish he _were _dead! He can't recover from this, no-one can, that's why he was dead! _A thought occurred to her as she reached forwards for Ron's forehead and ran her hand down Ron's cheek. _M-maybe I should put him out of his misery…k-kill him. He can't live through this. To live in constant pain when he should be dead is _torture_. It's torture. I know if it were me… I… I'd want mercy._

"Ron," Kim called to him and Ron gasped and gurgled, his throat sore and blood clogged. He licked his lips, tasting nothing but his own blood. "Ron… do you… do you want to… to…"

Ron rasped again and in a snap, his left hand flew out and snapped onto Kim's arm. She gasped in shock as he clung tightly to her, gripping her so intensely.

"You want to die?" she asked him, more tears beginning to run down her cheek. "Is that it, Ron?"

Ron's only response was more screams and… and a tighter grip onto Kim. "ERGGHHGH," he groaned and clenched his teeth and somehow managed to toss himself onto his side. Then he grabbed her with his other hand in such a violent movement that it frightened Kim. He gasped, groaned and sobbed as he pulled himself closer to Kim.

"Y-you don't…" _He wants to be with me… even like this!_

"Uhhhh…" Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth and he tried to look at her, but still he had barely any control of his own eyes that they only rolled back into his head.

"Oh, Ron, stop!" Kim cried and tossed herself onto him. She wanted to beg Ron not to do this to himself, but at the same time she didn't want him to die. Kim clutched his trembling, twitching body and felt every movement, every gasp, every shudder of his pain. She couldn't end his misery when he had the will to life, even with the amount of pain he was in. But at the same time, Ron would just die with these injuries anyway. Even if he only had a short time to live with his body in an ultimate crash down, he wanted to live every last moment with her. She couldn't stop the tears releasing from her eyes, even if she didn't cry completely.

So Kim clung to Ron as he clung to her, she helped to control the spasms and envelope his body in all the comfort she could offer him until the moment his life would leave him completely.

-ø-

Kim stirred as she began to awaken the next morning from an incredulous dream. In the dream, Ron had been dead and she had their baby, crazy antics ensued, including the fact that Ron was really Dr Drakken in disguise from the future and Shego was… oh, she didn't want to go back to that anyways. Keeping her eyes closed, she shuffled slightly from side to side in an attempt to warm herself up against the morning coldness. It was slightly difficult in doing so since not only did her body feel sore, but there was also a sensation of something weighing down on top of her. As her mind began to awaken more, she became more aware of the weight on top of herself shifting as she moved. Venturing one eye to the world, she realized that this weight on top of her was Ron.

Immediately, her body alarumed and she sat straight up inside the cardboard box, shuffling Ron off of her then quickly edged away from him. Last Kim recalled of last night, she had been protecting him from his insane torture; he must have tossed around some more and eventually thrown himself across Kim. Now that it was morning, he was dead for sure. Grimly, Kim reached out with a hand to touch his face when…

… He let out a snort.

"OH MY—" Kim blurted out and scrunched herself up, staring wide-eyed at Ron's body.

_He lived!_ Kim reached out again and rested her palm just in front of Ron's mouth and felt the air blow out as he breathed. Kim had no idea how he could be alive and… and obviously not in pain since he was _sleeping_. This did _not_ make sense of any kind. Well, she'd question him when he awoke. Last night must have been exhausting for him, so she decided to let him have his sleep. That, and she wasn't done with her quiet thinking time just yet.

Breathing heavily and her breath forming visibly in front of her, Kim's nostrils instantly became assaulted by the strong, stink of alcohol. Trying to cope with the smell, she stared down at Ron next to her still asleep. She just sat there for a few moments, staring down at him and feeling slightly worried. Ok, so he wasn't dead. He was alive. What panicked her now wasn't so much that he had fallen asleep across her that caused Kim slight anxiety, no, it was more the fact that Ron had been tossed over Kim's _belly_.

She knew it was foolish to fear that Ron could suspect anything, especially when asleep, but still… it was more because she hadn't even come to terms with it herself.

How could she forget? Although Kim was sore, rigid, cold and groggy with her details of the prior night vaguely in the fog, there wasn't any possible way she could forget her Discovery. Now, Kim's eyes wandered from Ron's sleeping form, to her own stomach. Taking in deep breaths, she bit her lower lip as her stomach received the staring treatment. Was there really something inside there? Or was it only her mind playing tricks on her?

_It could be,_ she reasoned. _After all, Ron was red in the stomach area too. And as far as I know, he most certainly can't—_

It was then that another idea hit her.

_Hey, wait a second! There isn't _any _way I could be… p… pr… can't because I've never slept with anyone! That's right!_ A wave of relief began to wash over Kim and slowly, a smile began to spread across her face. _I'm still a virgin, so there isn't any way there's something lurking in my belly. Woo, that was a scare! Haha… I can't believe I actually thought—_

"Mmm…"

Kim's attention was taken away from her thoughts when it was Ron's turn to stir. He continued to moan slightly as he wiggled around, stretching his neck, arms, back and legs. She couldn't help but notice that nothing appeared to be broken or was causing him any pain.

"Ergh… Kim..?"

"I'm here," she called back softly.

"I'm cold."

"It is."

Ron was now on his back, stretching out his arms as far as they'd go when he opened his eyes. Those bones in his arms had been shattered only just last night and yet now they weren't. He turned his head to look at Kim, "I feel so sick… oh duuuuuude… what's that smell?"

Kim took in a whiff of the Aue de Cardboard Box. "Alcohol," she replied, wrinkling her nose.

"Were we at some wild party last night? Cos… ohhh… I feel like I got a hangover," Ron grumbled and rolled onto his stomach. "My tummy feels crummy," and he wrapped his arms around the sore area.

"Well," Kim shrugged. "You were dead last night."

"I _feel_ dead _now_," Ron grumbled. "And I—Oh… OH!" That was it: Ron scrambled to his feet and vaulted over Kim who shoved herself as far as she could go against the wall of the box when Ron hauled himself out of the box. As soon as he was out, Kim heard the sounds of him retching continuously nearby.

_I guess that's what a hangover from dying is like_, she mused.

When Ron assumed he his stomach was finished uploaded his guts, he teetered back inside, one arm still around his stomach and flopped unceremoniously onto the floor next to Kim. He moaned and looked at Kim again.

"How come you're not all like me, huh? Didn't you have a drink or two as well?"

Kim clicked her tongue, "We weren't at a party, Ron. We were at a tower and you fell off the top and died because I was loser and thought I couldn't help you but I could have."

"Oh. Is that all?" Ron mumbled, "Well maybe next time you could have—WHOAH. What do you mean I died?" Ron shuffled himself to have a better look at Kim and give her a scrutinizing look. "Look, if the party went the same way as the one with Prince Wally and the spiked drink, then I can handle it, but I don't think ya need to go lying to me and—"

"I'm not lying," Kim interrupted.

Ron shut his mouth and stared hard at Kim. She was hanging her head, looking morose.

"Hey… uh, don't cry, KP… You know I like you, if I really did—"

"I said we weren't at a party!" Kim shouted back and Ron again fell into silence. "Don't you remember last night at all! We were stopping Adrena-Lynn and you fell off the Tower and I couldn't save you and you died, I _saw_ your cracked skull and the blood. I _held_ your broken body in my arms and _felt_ all the shattered bones move around and… LOOK… _look!_" Kim looked down at her mission sweater covered in his dried blood. She tugged on it and forced it into his face. "_This is your blood_! You were _dead_, there was _no heartbeat_! You were dead…"

Ron faltered, now felt ashamed and flushed for it. "Kim… I…" he looked at her, looked at the blood masking her shirt. "I couldn't have been _dead_…" he sat himself up and moved closer to Kim in an attempt to comfort her, he didn't know it made her feel more on edge. "I mean… I'm alive now, I sure felt it a few moments ago outside that box!" he laughed nervously. "People don't come back from the dead."

"But you did…" Kim murmured softly. "I thought it was my fault you died, because I could have saved you and I didn't…"

"Kim…"

"No, listen! I was on the bus and your body was in my arms… then… then it began to glow…"

"Glow?"

"Yea, blue. And you were screaming and screaming and…" Kim sobbed and realised she was near crying. Now she couldn't help but huddle a little closer to Ron, able prove to herself that he really _was_ alive now. "You were in so much pain, I think… I think the blue glow was _in_ you too, it was all around your heart and… and… and now you're alive." She looked up at him. "What happened, Ron? What was that?"

"I dunno… but you said it was blue, right?"

Kim nodded, sniffling and rubbing her nose. "I'm going to ask Wade," she concluded and shuffled around for the Kimmunicator in her pocket.

"Hey, Kim." Before Kim could turn the device on, Ron gave her a comforting smile and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Again, he didn't notice her tense up. "I may be dirty sore, and we may smell, but I'm one-hundred percent alive now, okay?" Then, much to Kim's shock, he gave her a small, short kiss on her cheek. "See?"

Kim flustered and tried to hide her head and fervent blushing from him. Once she was sure she had her blushing under control, she flicked on the Kimmunictor to greet Wade when—

"OH. MY. GOODNESS."

Kim and Ron sat shocked into stillness with eyes wide open.

Wade flew his chubby arms up into the air and continued his rampage. "WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE YOU GUYS!"

"W-Wade…"

"Ok, do you guys have _ANY_ clue how flaming angry your parents are with me right now? You _do_ know it's a school day?"

"Oops…"

"Yea, yea, well, y'know, 'oops' isn't going to stop your Father form sending me into a black hole!"

"Been there, done that," Ron yawned.

Wade sent Ron the most venomous look he could muster.

"So what happened! You're all alive right?" (Oh, the irony!) "Did you get captured? Because if you did, the least you could have done was _tell_ me! I've been trying to get through to the two of you all night! I—Oh-er—OH NO. DON'T TELL ME THE TWO OF YOU WERE—"

"NO!" Kim and Ron yelled back, equally flustered by the thought.

Wade leaned back in his seat and covered his face in his hands as he contemplated the sitch. "Ok, I need to tell your parents that you're alright and that I'm sending you home _now_."

"I feel like _I'm_ the ten year old," Kim commented to Ron from the side of her mouth.

"I heard that!" Wade grumbled as he hunched over an available computer like a vulture. "Ok, based on the tracking device inside Ron, I can pinpoint your location and get the nearest ride to you…"

"So you _DO_ have me microchipped!" Ron exclaimed, utterly aghast, "Where is it!"

"Not now, Ron," Kim nudged Ron with her elbow. To Wade, she said, "Right. When my parents are done yelling at you, Wade, we need to talk to you…"

"Not until you're on your ride back! No dawdling… maybe I can have you back in time for your afternoon classes…"

That was Ron's opening but Kim again nudged him, a little harder than before, she didn't want to provoke Wade any further. Unlike Ron, Kim understood that they were in t.r.o.u.b.l.e.. Kim hoped another grounding wasn't going to come her way, but staying out in another country _all night long_ without even calling the rents' on a school night? She was quite sure the 'but I was saving the world!' excuse wasn't going to work on this.

"Ok," Wade mumbled and stroked his chin. "Yea, ok, airport. I have a plane willing to give you ride, but you'll have to parachute over Middleton, it doesn't land there."

"Thanks, Wade," she attempted to smile sweetly. "And tell my Dad I'm really, really, _really_ sorry?"

"You can tell him yourself when you get back," Wade grunted and turned off his port.

"Huh!" Ron snorted back as Kim pocketed the Kimmunicator. "I died and that's the kind of thanks I get? What a 'tude!"

"Yea, but think of my parents," Kim countered, "I bet my Dad really let Wade have it."

Ron only snorted again and began to shuffle around, "I guess we better get outta this box then and head to the airport."

"Sure, whatever!" Kim laughed back, "Smelling the way we are? No matter what we did to help the guy giving us this lift in the past, the airport security aren't going to let us _in the_ building when we smell like this."

Ron whiffed in the offensive alcohol scent. "Yeah, but we don't act drunk."

Kim let out another laugh as she began to crawl out of the box. "You always do! Tripping over stuuuuff… walking into walls…"

"Oh, so witty, this morning, Kim. Are you sure _you're_ not the one drunk?" Ron replied sarcastically and crawled after Kim.

Outside, Kim was forced to squint as her eyes met the full force of daylight outside the box. Grunting, she pulled herself up, her muscles protesting as she stretched tall and patted the dirt and grudge off her blood-stained pants. Pressing her hands against her back for another stretch, she watched as Ron began to shuffle out of the box and make an attempt to stand.

"Oooh, oh, no… that's not any good, ok…"

"H'm?" Kim asked. With the sunlight outside, with Ron next to her and the non-dead Ron thoughts along with the fact that she cleared away her pregnancy suspicions, she couldn't help but feel pleasant; even if Ron was protesting and sore on the ground next to her.

"I can't stand up," he muttered and clutched his stomach. "Too dizzy…" He seated himself back down, cross-legged and teetered to and fro. "Mmm… still feel kinda sick 'n crummy inside. Even my _bones_ feel achy-like. Err… I thought we were gonna ask Wade about this death-thing. Augh…"

"On the airplane back," Kim replied. "I suspect Wade will only start talking to us again once we're securely on our way home and my parents are out of his hair."

"Mmm…"

"What? You don't think I'm concerned about what happened to you last night?"

"No, I just…"

Kim crossed her arms and glared at Ron, the emotion starting to rise in her voice. "Oh, so you think I'm _lying_?"

"_No_, it's just I feel like—" Too late, Ron wasn't able to finish his sentence. The boy tossed himself back into the cardboard box and began vomiting again.

Kim's back slumped and she unfolded her arms. "Well… we're done with that box anyway…" She could hear Ron continuing to moan from within the box. She could only see his legs sticking out and he fidgeted from time to time while continuing to hurl.

"We can wait if you're not feeling well enough. They're definitely not going to buy 'not drunk' when you're vomiting all over the plane."

"Kiiiim…"

"Oo, sorry." She squatted down and reached into the box to pat and rub Ron's back.

Ron twitched again and groaned: "If I died last night and this is what it's like when you come back from the dead then I think I'd prefer death…"

Kim clicked her tongue, not approving of Ron's morbid humour. But she stayed silent and continued to stand guard outside and easing him by rubbing his back until Ron was clearly done with the box. When he was, he scuttled back into the sunlight and reached out for Kim to help him stand.

On his feet for the first time since the top of the Tower, and the first time since his death last night, he was obviously uneasy at first. His grip on Kim's arms as his legs adjusted to 'standing' was tighter than Kim would have imagined. She held onto him in return and slowly, his legs steadied and he was standing on his own.

"Now, can you walk?" Kim couldn't help but say in a teasing voice.

He took a few steady steps, stopped, then walked a few more. "Yup, I'm good!" Then he continued to keep on walking down the alley way. In fact, he kept going and going and…

"Um. Are you coming back?" Kim cupped her gloved (and blood drenched) hands around her mouth and hollered.

"Yea. Uh," Ron called back as he kept walking away from her and towards a street. "You might wanna follow cos now that I'm going I don't know if I'm going to be able to stop without falling on my rear again!"

Kim laughed and ran after Ron, taking his arms and helping to guide him a left turn onto the sidewalks and on the path towards the Toronto Airport.

Well, since Kim didn't want to risk being banned from the airport for the musky-cardboard-box-century-old-alcohol smell and there were no swimming pools in sight to take advantage the showers and complementary soap, Kim and Ron opted for Plan C. Using all of Kim's super save-the-world sneaky action, Kim and Ron hauled through the vents of a nearby department store and, without anyone noticing, helped themselves to bottles of the free sample perfumes. Of course, Ron was indignant by the idea of smelling of flowers and pinkness and sugary cuteness but was silenced when Kim dumped an entire bottle of girly perfume over his head.

Now that Kim and Ron were sweet-smelling (a little strongly so), they were able to entire the airport and meet up with their flight (although they were for some reason forced to sit in coach).

"Must be our dirty clothes," Ron shrugged and stole the window seat.

The constant air-waving of the flight attendant over her nose told Kim another story.

But they had their ride and the two were headed back to Middleton and that's all that counted to Kim. During the flight (and Ron stuffing his face with the free peanuts), she had contacted her parents to let them know she was on their way. Kim couldn't say they had been too happy, but at least their conversation was short. For now.

Now that Wade's harassment from Kim's parents were lax, she decided to contact her computer buddy to bring up that whole 'Ron being dead' the previous night conundrum. Not that she really expected Wade to be able to figure it out. But it didn't hurt to ask.

"You're not joking, right?" Wade asked when Kim had told him (and Ron) the full events of last night (well, leaving out the whole 'thought I was pregnant!' thing, naturally).

"So. Not. Wade, I _saw_ him dead. _Everyone_ did! You can ask them all if you want—"

"Don't have to," Wade murmured, his eyes wandering to anywhere that wasn't Kim. "Already read it in the newspaper. I read it after I hooked up with you guys in the morning and saw Ron so I knew it couldn't be true, but I dunno. I guess I thought they were hyping it up or something." Wade hit a button on his keyboard and the article came up on the screen.

Ron, who was on his third bag of peanuts, craned his neck to read the article. "Wha… HEY! T-THEY GOT MY NAME WRONG!" Outraged, a few peanuts flew into the air and into the seats of the passengers in front of Kim and Ron.

" 'Don Stoppable Victim of Crazy Lady TV Stunt'," Kim read.

"Geesh, um, ok, you'd think that if I _died_, they could have at _least_ gotten my name right! Like, what's my obituary gonna say? Who's gonna know it's me!"

"Actually, I think that's a good thing," Kim replied. "It means your parents would be chucking your stuff out the window as we speak."

Ron slid into his seat looking disgruntled and crammed the peanuts into his mouth. The ones that missed his mouth were eaten by Rufus.

"So," Kim returned her conversation back to Wade who was once again on the screen of the Kimmunicator. "Do you have any idea what could have happened? Because he was _dead—_"

Ron perked up. "No matter how many times you say that, KP., it always gives me with willies. You and Canada must be conspiring for some stupid thing I did at some party, it's the only thing that can explain this morning."

Kim rolled her eyes. "Right. Because using the story of you dying and coming back to life is _so_ believable as a cover-up that we knew there'd be no-way you'd think we're lying."

Ron only shrugged.

"Well…" Wade said, sucking on his lips as he thought, tapping the tips of his fingers together. "I do have a theory. I mean, if Ron was really dead—"

"_Of course he was!_" Kim hissed back. "I wouldn't make this up!"

"You make it sound like you wish I still was," Ron commented airily.

Kim shot him a look.

"I actually do believe he was because, well, the scenario makes sense! While I was showing you the article from the newspaper, I caught some video feed of the actual recording on a news site."

"Play it."

"W-wha?" Wade stammered. "Kim, are you sure?"

"Play it."

"Um, o-okay…" Wade hit a button and the video appeared on the screen.

"_There_!" she shoved the Kimmunicator in Ron's face, more peanuts falling everywhere and consumed by Rufus. "There's your proof!" her voice shook.

Forced to watch, Ron was silent as he heard the people scream from the video as the camera was recording a newscaster doing a report on how the police still couldn't force their way into the Tower even with a few minutes to Adrena-Lynn's airing time. The scream attracted the camera-man's attention and it shook wildly as he tried to get an adjustment on the top of the Tower above them. Then in focused and zoomed in on a small dot on the Tower's sphere.

Ron dropped the bag of peanuts. He recognised that form as himself, he could even see his blonde air clashing against the deep night sky. Then… more screaming as he… he… Ron watched himself fly backwards and slip… he watched himself try to haul himself back up as he continued to slip down the sphere then… Then he fell. More screaming came from everyone all around, gasps, shouts and prayers all being directed towards his fall.

_Where's Kim?_ Ron couldn't help but ask as he watched his fall. He remembered Kim saying something earlier that morning about not being able to rescue him when she could have, or something like that. Yet at this very moment, Ron was too shocked and revolted, his heart, his very _alive_ heart, thudded in his chest as he watched the screen. He fell and fell and kept waiting for Kim to zoom in from the side of the camera on her grappling hook and rescue him but no… he fell and as the camera's angle began lowering, Ron knew Kim wasn't going to be saving him here and that if he hit the concrete he would… die.

"OH MY GOODNESS!" a woman screamed on the recording and Ron watched his body fall and heard a sickening sound as it crashed onto the ground. He wasn't able to see himself hit the ground, it was blocked by the crowds, but he knew… no-one could survive that fall. That person, that person in the video, _he_ was… dead. The video was over.

"But I'm alive now…" Ron murmured. Then feeling of panic began to seize him and he pushed himself to sit straight in his seat and lock eyes with Kim. "But I'm alive now! How! _HOW?_"

"That's what I'm asking Wade," she replied in a whisper. "What's your theory, Wade?"

The mood was sombre between the friends after playing that video. Wade's voice was quiet as he folded his hands and sat neatly in front of the computer screen. "You guys aren't going to believe me though."

"I need to know," Kim's voice shook slightly.

"Me too," Ron mumbled, his eyes darting away.

Wade sucked in a deep breath, stared at Kim, then said: "Ron has nine extra lives."

Silence. No-one knew _what_ to say to respond to _that_.

"I have _nine lives!_" Ron asked in awe.

"Nine _extra_ lives, so I guess you really have ten if you get down to it."

Kim turned to look at Ron, then back at Wade. "Wade, Ron's not a _cat_! What's going on!"

"It's because of the Mystical Monkey Power."

"Yes, keyword being _monkey,_ not _cat_," Kim retorted.

"I read about this a long time ago, back when he got the power," Wade replied, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "I didn't want to say anything because I had no idea if it was true or not and… knowing Ron, he might be a little reckless in wanting to test it out," he arched his eyebrows at Ron.

"Heeeey," Ron huffed back.

"Explanation?" Kim demanded.

"See, the monkey is a symbol in the Chinese Zodiac. And according to one legend, Buddha was holding a party and invited all the animals. But only twelve would arrive in total, and as each of these Twelve animals arrived, Buddha was so happy, that he granted each one an extra life as it arrived. The monkey was the ninth guest out of twelve and therefore received nine extra lives. And that's a focus in the Mystical Monkey Power that Ron has."

"Wow, sucks to be early," Ron commented.

Wade ignored this. "When a Mystical Monkey Power warrior was killed in battle, his power would heal his battle wounds and revive him to continue to fight for the power's honour. That's what I read anyway, didn't think there was any truth in it until now."

More silence from Kim and Ron.

"Wow." Ron concluded, a grin beginning to stretch from ear to ear. "So, like, if I play my cards right, I can live forever!"

"Uh, no. The healing only works from _battle wounds_. It's not immortality. You can still die of old age and it won't heal you. If your body is too old to function, it can't fix that."

"This is still so way past cool!" Ron grinned and began to bounce in his seat. "Oh dude, KP, now are you jealous or what?"

"Calm down, Ron," Kim replied her voice slightly irate. "That explains the blue glow, and why he was screaming in pain last night. He was coming back to life; that must have been the Mystical Monkey Power healing his bones and everything. That's got to hurt."

Ron shrugged, "Hey, no pain, no life!"

"Ron, don't let this go to your head," Wade cautioned. "I think you'd better hang onto those lives as preciously as you can. You only have nine extra left."

"As opposed to you who just has one," Ron laughed and tossed some peanuts into the air to catch them in his mouth. "Duuuude! Rufus!" Rufus was sitting on the armrest next to Ron trying to fish out some of the peanuts. "That means you got extra too! Sweet! Oh, um..." he turned to Kim who was sitting in silence, looking full of strife. "Don't sweat it, Kimbo, you just gotta be careful. 'Sides, you're the one who told me this morning that I'm the one always bumping into stuff!"

"Mm, right," Kim mumbled. "Thanks, Wade. Guess that's it. Thanks for the info-dump."

Wade shrugged, "It's what I'm here for."

"Bon diggity, this is totally badical! Now there's no way any henchdude or Shego can up one on the Ron-Man!" Ron struck some kun-fu poses and accidentally hit the seat in front of him with his foot. "I got Monkey Power of Total Kick-Butt _and_ extra lives just in case one of 'em manages to snag a life!"

"Stop it, Ron."

"Oh, uh, huh?"

Ron looked at Kim. The Kimmunicator was off in her hands and hanging limply as she hung her head.

"Hey," Ron said soothingly and leaned closer to her. "Look, uh, don't be upset you didn't get the extra lives. Uh…"

"It's not about that," Kim snapped softly and Ron gave her a questioning look. Then he saw her fidgeting with her bracelet. "Ron you _died_ last night. And… I…" Kim sniffed, not wanting any tears to spring up. "I didn't like it. I don't want that happening again. So, please… Ron. Be careful."

Ron was about to respond, perhaps something slightly careless of Kim's present emotions when Kim suddenly lifted her face and looked directly into his eyes. It put him off guard, especially how desperate and despondent they were.

"Promise?" Kim's voice was not even a whisper. "Promise me."

"But if I die, I'll just come back again," Ron attempted to scoff it off, feeling a little nervous with Kim's seriousness.

Her voice choked, "_Please_. No-one should have to see their best friend die. Even if you do come back again."

Ron actually flushed and looked away as he felt shameful for his burst of pride in his knowledge of his extra lives. When he looked back at Kim, he found that her eyes had never left him.

"Okay, KP. I promise. I'll be careful." Ron smiled as he watched Kim's spread subtly across her face. "Besides," Ron attempted a laugh, "Waking up after death isn't what I'd call a party. Well. Actually, I'd call it the morning-after-a-party…"

"Um, excuse me?"

Kim and Ron both lifted their heads, both slightly startled when a stewardess spoke up. Neither of them had seen her coming.

"Yes?" Kim asked politely.

"We're nearing your departure," she looked a little confused as she dictated her message. "The Captain said to meet him in the cockpit."

"Oh, thank-you very much," Kim inclined her head and picked up her backpack from the floor. Unbuckling herself, Ron did the same and stowed Rufus away in his pocket, together they followed the stewardess towards the cockpit.

"Nice, um, perfume," the stewardess commented before Kim and Ron entered.

"Um, thanks. It's Boîte de Carton," then blushing, she and Ron skirted into the cockpit and shut the door behind them.

"Ah, Kim Possible!" One of the pilots said as she approached them in their seats. "It's a pleasure giving you a lift after the way you fixed our last engine flying across the Atlantic Ocean in mid flight!"

Kim blushed again, "It was no big! We were lucky Ron was small enough at the time to fit and crawl inside to help Rufus repair the engine as we all plummeted to what we thought was our deaths!"

Ron was returning the smile sarcastically. "Yea, and getting blown into the air after we restarted the engine from the inside was, like, _way_ fun."

"Hey, you had a tether line."

"That _broke_."

"We're nearing your jump zone so I suggest you slip on your parachutes," the co-pilot said.

Kim spotted two parachute packs on the floor and picked hers up while handing the other to Ron. Pulling off the pack she had on already and trying it to her belt, Ron mimicking, she slid on the parachute and pulled open the side door. Instantly, wind rushed by and reminded Kim of her goggles stowed away in her backpack that she snug on.

"What- no helmets!" Ron asked over the roaring wind.

"Left them at home!" Kim smiled apologetically. "But don't worry, if we crack our skulls on the ground, at least _you'll_ live," she mocked.

Before Ron could retort to that, the pilot called: "Alright: everybody JUMP!" over his shoulder and Kim leapt from the airplane, Ron right behind her.

"Wooo!" Kim called out as the sped through the air, free falling.

Now this was something she wouldn't be able to do if she was pregnant!

_Ha!_ She thought triumphantly. _My life continues! There's no way I'd give this up… no way…_ A smile of contentment swept across her face, she looked over at Ron next to her as he concentrated on the ground below him. _And I'm so thankful that you're here to spend this life with me; even if you _do _get nine more than me._

The smile slowly began to fade from Kim's face when she realised that the look on Ron's might not be concentration after all. In fact, it could very well be him struggling to contain his _fear_. Diving from the airplane was just like last night where he had plummeted a great distance and died. Perhaps watching that video jogged his memory.

"Let's pull our chutes!" Kim called out to him. No response. "Ron!" Still none. Kim angled herself to the left and dove closer to Ron. Reaching out, she yanked his parachute cord and suddenly heard his yelp as he jerked back into the air, the chute poofing open behind him.

Kim pulled her own and the two soared down onto the grass, their parachute enveloping them. Finding her way out of the chute and slipping the pack off her back, she went over to Ron who wasn't even moving from underneath his.

"Ron?" Kim called. She could tell he was okay, the parachute overtop of him showed her that he was sitting up. Grunting as she shovelled the massive chute off of Ron, she stood over him, hands on her hips.

"I don't think I'll be doing that anytime soon," he said.

"I thought not."

"I think I'll just stay on the ground for awhile."

"I thought so. Here," she gave him her hand and hauled him up. After they packed away their parachutes and took in their bearings, they realised that they were near the Middleton Park which was close to Ron's house.

"Do you mind if we go to your house?" Kim asked. "I'd like to wash up for real and maybe clean my clothes before I go back home. My parents already aren't very happy about me not telling them I was spending the night in another country. I'm not sure how they'll react when they see all of your dried blood on me."

Ron was already walking down the street and Kim trotted up to match his stride. He looked at her shirt as if realising for the first time that that _really was_ his blood. "They won't know it's mine," he commented.

Kim rolled her eyes. "I think it's more the 'blood' aspect rather than 'your blood'. I'm not sure they're too particular about whose it is."

Ron chuckled, "Yea, ok. I'm down with that."

"Thanks, Ron."

Walking together, they arrived quickly at Ron's yellow house. Before stepping inside, she couldn't help but shiver at the sight of it. It wasn't really the house so much as it was what _happened_ there the last time she was here.

_NO!_ she thought defiantly. _What I _thought _had happened. But it didn't. Because I'm fine and unpregnant!_

She did a skip as she entered Ron's household. Slipping off their shoes, they treaded softly upstairs, bypassing an empty kitchen and sitting room.

"Are your parents home?" Kim inquired in a whisper just in case they were and working.

"I don't think so, they should be at work now. Hey, um, are we still heading to school?"

"I don't think so," Kim stood, holding her parachute pack and her shoes between the bathroom and Ron's bedroom. "I doubt there'll be time. I'll have to phone Monique and others for notes and stuff."

"That can be your job."

"Gee, thanks. Can I go wash-up first?"

Ron nodded, "MmH'm, sure." He followed Kim to bathroom door. She dumped her armful onto the floor and said to Ron before closing the door, "Stay here so I can hand you my clothes so you can wash them, ok?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Kim closed the door and stripped out of her clothes then fed them to Ron through as sliver in the door just large enough for her arm.

"Thanks, Ron!" she called from the sliver and shut the door.

Outside, Ron held her buddle of clothes and only headed to the washing machine once he heard the water begin to run in the bathtub. Trotting downstairs and then down more into the basement, Ron couldn't help but think on the disturbing events that had occurred. He was even too disturbed to even dwell on the fact that Kim was showering in _his_ bathroom.

No, it was this 'death' thing that was on his mind. Sure, it was cool that he had multiple lives and if someone on the street decided to shoot him down, he'd come right back. But even so, it's a little rattling to know that he was dead only last night. To be honest, his memories of the events were a little cloudy, but watching the video on the Kimmunicator did unclog a few things.

If he was dead last night (which he did not remember), then: _Wow, poor Kimila. _Ron stood in front of the washing machine and placed all of her clothes on top. _I musta really scared her, no wonder she wasn't so happy with me flaunting my extra lives. Even if I do get more than the average Joe, I still _die _and if we were in reverse, I dun think I'd like to haveta hold Kim's dead body in my arms. _

Grimacing, Ron opened the washer and picked up Kim's mission sweater to dump inside. Before he was able to place it inside, he halted, staring at the mass of blood all over the front. _His_ blood.

_Lotta_ _blood_, he thought. And again he thought of being in reverse with Kim, to have _her_ blood all over him wasn't something he'd ever want to see. _Ever_. Flushing, Ron heaved all of Kim's clothes inside the washer and poured in the soap and started up the machine.

_She was so upset on the plane and in the box… She cares. I wonder if she was that freaked when I went into the coma. Maybe that's what helped to change her mind about me, that and the letter I wrote for her. Maybe my death last night will add to that, show that being nasty to me isn't cool at all. 'Course, she might begin to take me for granted again… she'll never get that apology if it goes that way_, he thought adamantly.

Still, Ron was unable to tell Kim he had forgiven her for everything post-hand freeing. Mainly because he wasn't _sure_ if he had forgiven her. Ron was still playing it out, seeing if Kim really meant what she said, that and he was still figuring it out for himself. _She did a lot to hurt me back then._

Marching back up to the second floor and outside the bathroom, he sat down on the floor, back against the wall. "Hey, Kimbo?" Ron called, raising his voice over the shower noise.

"Ron?"

"Yea, it's me," he replied. "Look, I er, uh, I wanna say sorry I was kinda insensitive about the whole me dying thing. Sorry. Thanks for looking after me anyway. Least, I think sleeping with my dead body in a rank-smelling cardboard box is looking after me. Some people might call it ne—"

"It is."

"Right, thought so," Ron's mouth twitched upwards. "So thanks for that."

There was a pause and Ron couldn't hear any noises of Kim shuffling around unlike before, the only sound between them was the steady flow of water.

"Kim?"

"You're welcome."

He didn't know it, but Kim was a little unnerved with Ron's 'thanks'. Maybe if he remembered all of last night, he wouldn't be thanking her so gratefully. It still stirred guilt inside that it was because of her that Ron had died. Because of her stupid jumping to conclusions and panicking, she had gone into a shock. She could have saved Ron, or even have gone up herself!

_That's the first time I've ever had a fear like that,_ she thought. Kim lifted her hands, watching the water from above flow between her fingers. _No matter what happens, I won't let something like that ever happen again. He's too special to me._

When Kim was done her shower, she hailed for Ron and by then, her clothes were done in the washer but hadn't finished their run in the dryer so they ended up a tad damp.

"I'm going to head back now, Ron," Kim said. She stood with Ron on the second floor hallway. "I better talk to Mom and Dad first and you ought to shower up," she eyed him critically. "If you want to do something later to-night—_like homework_," she added before Ron could butt in with any wild ideas. "You can call me."

"Alrighty then, KP," Ron nodded. He watched her climb down the stairs, a hand on the banister when suddenly another memory resurfaced from last night. "Oh, hey, wait, Kim!"

"H'm?" Kim paused just in front of Ron's front door.

"I… I don't, like, remember much from last night but I do… sorta remember, I do recall you being… er, I guess, upset last night. I have these flashes of you being troubled."

"Ah, that."

"Are you okay? Is it still bothering you?"

"No, Ron," Kim smiled genuinely. "It's not bothering me any more. Not in the least."

Or so it would for only a few more hours.

-ø-

In fact, it was early the next morning when the slight shadow of her doubt began to slip into the corner of her mind and hang there like a looming cloud. There was only one way of putting it: she felt sick. It's what awoke Kim from her deep dreams well before her alarum clock was to sound off for school. Her stomach ached and she moaned, wincing from the ill feeling inside. At first she attempted to shake it off and fall back asleep, but the sickness worsened, there would be no more sleep that day for Kim.

The first time it happened, lasting most of the morning and afternoon, Kim managed to push the shadowing feeling of suspicion back into her mind as perhaps she caught something from sleeping in that cardboard box the previous night. But when it happened again on Friday, same time, that creeping doubt, like a stalking panther, rose in her mind and there was no way she could shake off the feeling any longer.

Holding a bucket in case she threw up again, Kim sat by her window. She had opened it slightly so the voices of her Mother and Ron on that Friday morning carried up to her.

"She's sick again?" Ron asked dejectedly. "Kim said she was fine and came to school for the afternoon yesterday."

"Did she?" Mrs Possible inquired.

"Yea," came Ron's insistent voice. "I guess she's having a relapse… Tell her I was here asking about her, please?"

"Of course, Ron. Of course."

"I'll come by after school with her homework and stuff. I hope she gets better soon."

"Me too, I'll see you later on then."

"Kay, thanks, Mrs Dr P."

Kim hid away from the window as she heard the sound of her front door close and watched Ron walk down the street towards Middleton High. Feeling downcast, Kim teetered back to her bed, a dizzy spell hitting her, and crawled back underneath the covers. It wasn't exactly psychic powers that told Kim her Mother would be coming back up to see her.

"Kimmie?" Indeed, it was her Mother's soft voice from bellow the trap door.

"Mmm?"

Mrs Possible entered her room and perched lightly on the edge of her bed. "Ron just stopped by," she said soothingly.

Kim hid most of her face underneath the covers, the blankets pulled up right to her nose.

"What'd he say?" Kim asked, truly miserable.

"He told me to wish you better for him and tell you he'd stop by after school to bring you your homework."

"Ergh. I feel so sick…"

"I know sweetie, you probably caught some bug when you were out on that last mission of yours," Mrs Possible smiled genially at her daughter. "Do you want anything before I go to work? You have the phone beside your bed in case you need to phone me at any time."

"Please and thank-you, Mom. I want… um… some… ice-cream."

"Sure," Mrs Possible stood up, but just as she took a couple of steps away from the bed, she turned around again. "You know, Ron mentioned that you were at school for afternoon classes."

Kim nodded, deciding to tell the truth lightly. "I was feeling a little better so I thought I'd go. I wasn't all better though, but, heh, you know me, Mom," she laughed.

"Well, even if you 'think' you're better to-day, I'd rather you stay home," her Mother replied, her voice taking a stern edge. "Obviously you didn't recover so stay in bed and take the day off. You have to rest up before you can fully recover, if you keep pushing yourself, you'll only get worse."

"Okaaay," Kim gurgled and gave another moan.

"I'll go bring you your ice-cream now."

When her Mother had left Kim alone in her room, Kim shut her sore eyes and laid her head back into the pillow. But she _had_ been better as the day progressed and after she ate yesterday, it wasn't just a 'little' better. It had been like she had never even been sick. And yet here she was, in bed, doing a total replay of the day before.

_You see?_ Said that shadow in the corner of her mind. _You couldn't get rid of me that easily._

_Shut-up_, she told it grudgingly and tossed herself onto her stomach as she felt another strong wave of nausea hit her.

Her Mother had returned with a load of ice-cream for Kim to keep her happy while she was alone for the day.

"I'll come see you as soon as I come home," Mrs Possible promised.

So Kim was left in the room with her ice-cream and that hanging cloud that she tried to ignore. There wasn't anything she could do about it now while she was this sick, so why bother worrying about it? Because it was so intense and refused to leave her alone, that was why.

Hours had passed, Kim was well-done with her ice-cream after eating it all in the first few minutes that her Mother had brought it to her and she had kept the vomit bucket next to her bed busy. It was during lunch time that Kim was growing restless, venturing a walk, Kim pushed out of bed, this time only feeling a little dizzy rather than 'puketastic' as she had called it. So, with her stomach growling for more ice-cream, she headed down to the kitchen where she raided the family's supply of ice-cream. Even the Tweeb's flavour that she was, by no means, allowed to touch.

It had been during the time that she was scraping the bottom of the ice-cream box that she decided she was well-enough to return to school.

_Whatever, I'm fine now, only a little icky here or there, but all-in-all, I'm fine enough for school._ With steely determination, Kim headed back stairs, dressed into comfortable clothing of her peasant-chic top and flared blue jeans, then packed her back and walked to school.

_I'm not to let this take me down_, she thought grudgingly.

Kim didn't even have the time to stop off at her locker, it was straight to Chemistry class and she made it right before the bell rang, in fact, not just her, but Ron as well. The two clashed shoulders right as they entered the classroom at the exact same time.

"KP!" Ron exclaimed as he pulled back, staring at her bewilderedly. "You made it back again! Feeling better?"

Kim recoiled and looked at Ron. He looked slightly harried and there was only one guess where he had been previously. _Out doing some puking of his own,_ she thought wryly. After doing some of her own that morning, she couldn't possibly understand why someone would do so willingly.

But that wasn't the reason why Kim suddenly felt so startled, nervous and avoidant when she came face to face, so closely too, with Ron. _Could he… really… maybe… possibly… be the reason I was so sick this morning? Did he and I really..?_

Kim nodded briskly at Ron and rushed over to her seat.

Ron followed her quickly, placing his backpack on the counter and slid into his seat next to her. "I'm glad you made it back," he said in a quieter voice now that the bell had rung.

Kim again nodded and replied with a quick, "Thanks."

Ron watched Kim's abrupt movements as she pulled out her textbook and binder. He couldn't help but notice how she wasn't making any eye contact with him. Quietly pulling out his own textbook and binder, he watched Kim out of the corner of his eye some more and felt the uneasy feeling that she was having a major ish with him.

_And I can prolly guess why_.

"Um…" Ron said, even though he wanted to say something to Kim to bridge the awkwardness between them, nothing came to mind. She didn't even look up at his stutter or appear to acknowledge it in any way.

Before he could make another (probably failed) attempt at speech, the teacher took the head of the classroom and darkened the lights for note-taking. Giving Kim one last look as he picked up his pen, he knew she wouldn't be saying another word to him for the rest of _this_ class.

And apparently the rest of gym class too.

When the bell had rung for the end of Chemistry class, Kim shoved everything into her bag _so_ quickly and fled, that he hadn't even finished packing his pencils away in his pencil case. Why in the world wasn't she waiting for him? Kim _always_ waited for Ron! They weren't going to be late.

Slightly abashed, Ron slung his backpack over his shoulder and sauntered downstairs to the gymnasium.

He didn't get to speak to Kim much since after changing into gym uniform, the boys were shuffled outside to do football while the girls stayed inside to do track sports. But while they were doing the stretches, Ron kept trying to start conversations that all failed. Surprisingly, not just because of him either. If forced to respond, Kim would reply shortly, never looking at him and even edge away.

When he returned from being mauled outside 'playing' football (he could have sworn he lost another life, but he didn't), he spotted Kim sitting on the bleachers while watching the rest of the girls finish taking their turns to catapult themselves over a bar and onto a mattress.

_I hope this silent-treatment will blow over after school_.

It didn't.

"So I was thinkin' we could break at Bueno Nacho then chill at the mall for the rest of the day since there's no cheer practice. Sound good? We could even stop by Club Banana and you could—"

"No, Ron, I have somewhere to go, um, actually."

"Oh, where are we going?" Ron asked.

"NO."

Ron double-blinked, startled and even a little hurt. " 'No'?" He watched Kim blush severely and again avoid looking him in the eyes, it injured him even more.

"No, you can't come with me, Ron," she stuttered, "I have to go by myself, ok?"

"Oh. O-ok… Why can't I come? We always go everywhere tog—"

"I _know_. But no. _No_. Just, go to Bueno Nacho or something."

"By myself?"

"You'll have Rufus."

"Well, yea, but—"

"Look, just, here," Kim fished into her backpack and pulled out her wallet. Flipping it open, she pulled out twenty and handed it to him. "Knock yourself out, ok? Talk to you later!"

Then she turned and ran down the hallways without even allowing Ron to say anything more. Ron looked at the wad of cash in his hands, then at Kim fleeing. He titled his head in confusion when Kim suddenly stopped running as if she had been hit with cold ice. Thinking maybe she was going to turn around and come back to him to apologise, Ron took a tentative step forwards, but she didn't turn around. No, she just walked the rest of the way, and out the doors.

Sorrowfully, Ron leaned against his locker and stared at the twenty dollars in his hands. First not talking to him after the clash into each other at Chem. class, then all this avoiding and now just handing him a twenty to splurge at Bueno Nacho _without her_?

Yes, Ron was picking up on some acutely bad vibes from Kim. And he knew what it was about too.

-ø-

Right when Kim was positive she had securely placed a wall over her doubtful thoughts, they all had come crashing down revealing themselves to be made of a wall of paper when she had met up with Ron that afternoon. All day, the suspicion wouldn't leave her; it bothered her so much that she couldn't even look at Ron anymore. Nor could she participate in gym, she had told her PE teacher that she was still unwell from that morning and sat the entire period out.

_That's it_, she thought angrily as she stormed down the streets. _I can't let this ruin my life any further, I have to find out once and for all if I'm really pregnant, I have to get this over with. I'm not going to be able to sleep to-night unless I find out._

So during the time she had sat out gym class, Kim decided she would purchase a test at a pharmacy. _But not a nearby one, heck nooo._ What if someone she knew saw her there? What if her Mother went there and the pharmacist told her what Kim had purchased? There would be no risks: she was going straight to Lowerton.

_Tch_, she thought scornfully as she stopped at the bus stop. _It's not like anyone I know goes there_. _Should be safe enough._

When the bus had arrived and Kim took a seat to herself, she looked to the empty seat next to her. _I wish Ron could be here to comfort me_, she thought woefully. _But I can't. I can't even be around him. Because what if… what if…_ _I can't say it!_

And then those thoughts of 'I have to be wrong!' came back into her mind, after all, she had never slept with him. Or with anyone for that matter! That was when those other thoughts came back to her, the memories of the infrared on the screen in the Tower, then herself being sick.

_I'll be putting all these thoughts to rest soon._

Kim hopped off the bus at the first Lowerton mall the bus stopped at and headed inside, looking for a pharmacy. Spotting one, she headed inside and found the right aisle when she… halted.

_This is so embarrassing!_ She suddenly began to blush and lose her nerve. What if someone saw her pick one up! It didn't matter _who_ saw her anymore. And then the pharmacist! He'd have to ring the box up and… and… it was far too embarrassing!

_Maybe I could mention that I'm doing an errand for my Mom_, she contemplated. Nervously, she teetered on her feet and peeked into the aisle. No-one was there, but the Tests were.

_Ok, it so doesn't matter who sees you, what do they care, you're just person, juuuust a person. They ring those things up _all _the time. All the time! I'm just another nameless, faceless, teenage… Ah, I can't do it! I can't! I ca—_

"May I help you?"

"Gah!" Startled out of her skin, Kim leapt into the air a couple of feet, along with her heart going a few extra. Turning around, stressed, she found a pharmacist to be looking at her intently.

"Are you looking for something specific, Miss?"

Quickly, Kim thought on her feet. "Yes, actually, I'm doing an errand. Can you help me find the, uh, tests?"

"Tests?"

"Yea, oh, you know," Kim pretended to fumble with something in her pocket. She was hoping to deceive the pharmacist into thinking she was finding a list her Mother gave her. "Those pregnancy tests?"

"Oh, yes, right this way," the pharmacist smiled kindly and led her down the very aisle she was standing in front of. "Did your Mother specify which kind?"

"Kind? Uh, no. She just said to get one. Any one is fine by me. Or, her, really."

The pharmacist returned Kim with a funny look. "Alright then, might I suggest this one?"

"Uh, sure."

As soon as she paid for the item, she stuffed it into her school bag and just in case anyone had x-ray eyes and could see through the bag she fled straight for home.

"KIM, YOU ATE OUR ICE-CREAM!" Jim and Tim shouted and they burst from the kitchen as Kim ran past.

Kim was tearing up the stairs when she paused and ran back down. "Are Mom and Dad home?"

"No," Jim scowled. "But they're going to know about the ice-cream when they do!"

"Okay, thanks," Kim hastened and sped back up the stairs and slammed the bathroom door behind her while leaving her twin brothers behind baffled.

Once inside, she leaned against the door, barring it from anyone who might want to come in. Cautiously, Kim locked the door and slipped off her backpack. Reaching inside, she pulled the test box from her bag and began to open it. There would be no evidence left behind; the box would be going straight into her bag afterwards and any disposal would be done elsewhere, certainly not _anywhere_ in this household.

Stripping the box open, she read the instructions. In a few moments she would know the truth…

It wasn't long before the results were in her hands.

Her hands began to shake and she bit her lower lip so intensely that it nearly bled. Her eyes were shut tight, and she knew that once she opened them, the answer would be right there in front of her. Still shaking, she began to shake her head slowly, there wasn't anyway Kim could open her eyes. Had there been any other time in which Kim Possible had been so fearful in her entire life? There was a part of her mind that told her she had nothing to fear, go ahead and open your eyes, it'll all be over and nothing will be there. It's all in your head! But then there was that other half. That other half that told her no, that half that told her if she did look… it would seal her fate.

_But it won't change the results. What they are in my hand will stay what they are when I look so… just— just get it over with, Possible! Okay. Here we go._

Then, taking in a deep breath, Kim opened her eyes.

…

It fell to the floor.

Kim was next to follow.

Her palms on the bathroom floor, she loomed over the fallen results to stare and stare and stare… but no matter how much she stared, it would not change them.

_I'm pregnant. _

Her arms began to shake and she hung her head, forcing down all of the emotions that fevered to burst open from within. It took her awhile, but once she managed to have a small, precarious, lid on them, she sat down, leaning her back against the bathtub and laid her head back.

_This had to be a mistake. It _has _to be! It doesn't make sense!_ She felt so utterly terse inside. The shock that had hit her on the night inside the Tower returned to Kim and she once again found herself falling into a world of bewilderment. She couldn't even grasp it! Kim couldn't grasp that those results, there on the floor, was _hers_; that as Kim sat, at that very moment, there was not one, but two, inside the bathroom.

How could those be her results? This couldn't be right, she made a mistake, or maybe it was defected. But those weren't Kim's. No, that wasn't right. She was too young to have results like that anyway! And yet there they lay. Clear as could be.

So it was confirmed. Kim Possible now knew for positive that there was a some_one_ inside her. Now what could she do? A flurry of thoughts stormed her mind as she began to think of the future. What would she do? Wouldn't she, well, get _big_? And then what? People would know! Bonnie and the other cheerleaders would know! The villains would know! Her _parents_ would know! … _Ron_ would know.

How in the world could she tell Ron? It was impossible! What in the world would he say or do? The fact was, for Kim, the situation was so beyond surreal, that she couldn't even guess how Ron would react to this. And _if_ he is the Father (what a _bizarre_ term to describe him as!), how would that effect him? There wasn't any way he'd run away, she assured herself after hearing the horror stories the cheerleaders in the changing rooms gossiping about friends from Lowertown High. She and Ron had known each other since they were tiny, little kids and were so tight, he wouldn't just flee. But she couldn't exactly picture him being one-hundred percent comfortable either.

_So I don't tell him_, she concluded. Then she looked down at her stomach. _Er, for the time being, anyway…What am I going to do when my parents find out? I can't exactly hide the huge continent I'm going to sprout from me in a few months. They're so not going to buy the whole 'pms-bloating' thing. This is _so _the drama! I'm in so much trouble, they'll slay me!_ Kim blew strands from her face and whined softly.

_Or…_

Or what?

There was another option wasn't there?

Kim sat forwards, wrapping her arms around her legs and buried her face in her arms as she contemplated the risqué thoughts... She could quite easily be rid of this… _parasite_, she so called it, long before any growth began to show, couldn't she? In fact, she could enlist Wade and ask him to do a favour for her. Have it… taken out… secretly.

But that was a huge decision. Because… _I'd be killing it, right?_ she thought. _That doesn't make me feel like the best person in the world… But what about me and my life? I'm supposed to start University with Ron next year and…_

A shameful thought occurred to her. She hung her head, _This must be exactly how Ron's Mother was thinking…I… I hate to think it but I think I understand her a little better now. She's been a worker her whole life, like me… and when she found out about Ron…She must have been feeling like I am now. _

That really made her feel bad and pushed adamant thoughts away from just disposing of the child inside her.

_What if what's inside me is, like, someone else's Ron? _

She groaned and buried her head further. This was _not_ going to be an easy decision to deal with. Even with those thoughts, she still wasn't sure what course of action to take yet. There wasn't anyway Kim could be expected to make a firm decision on anything at the moment regarding her sitch.

Then, before she knew it, she felt tears trickling down her cheeks. Disgusted with herself, she forced them away.

_How could this even have happened to me anyway?_ She thought fiercely. _I want to say Ron could be the only guy because he's the only one I ever hang out with but since when did we ever sleep like _that _together!_

Growling, Kim clamped her hands to her head and forced herself to think back.

_Okay, so it couldn't have been too long ago since I'm not, like, blowing up like one of my cakes in the oven so… last couple of months…Ron and I have shared my bed a lot, but we've never even made-out so obviously nothing_ more _than that could have happened. We just wanted to be near each other after that whole separation thing in Autumn. It had depleted our Togetherness Bar and we had to replenish that. But I _know _nothing happened. Heh, maybe I was hit by some funky ray of Drakken's. But that can't be it either! He hasn't done rayguns since forever! Last I saw on Evil Eye for the Bad Guy, lasers were in so that means Drakken is totally out of it being the old man he is._

"Augh!"

Kim slumped back again, appearing defeated; she'd never figure it out!

_Wait, if it _is _Ron, and it _has _to be, maybe he remembers?_ She flushed greatly and pulled hair down to cover her face as if he was sitting right in front of her. _But then I'd have to tell him about this to ask him if we ever slept together and there's no way that's happening anytime soon. When… when… wait…what about…_

Actually, the memory wasn't all that old— it had just happened last month. She recalled being up in her room and Ron had wanted to… No, it hadn't been _Ron_, it had been the Mystical Monkey Power inside of him! It wanted to… to… well, to mate with her.

_All because of that weirdo monkey-love temple stuff! It _has _to be related to that!_ She snapped her fingers. _It has to be! But how? When? It could be the only time in which some thing like that could have happened to us, it makes sense. _

Ron had tried, the power inside him, rather, but it had failed when Kim had splashed water onto him and he sobered up. _Because we talked and he left._ She frowned, _Then_ _it couldn't have been then. But I was so sure…_

NO

_WAIT!_

The night after that.

But no… Again Kim slumped and frowned. The night after that, the night where she had Ron had their first-fledged make-out session in his bedroom, Wade told Kim that the power should have died out.

Keyword being 'should'.

Kim lifted her head and clamped a hand to her mouth. Her eyes were as round as they could get when she began to remember that night… that night when… when she had spent the night at Ron's house. They had made out then but… Kim had no recollection of them actually… yet… what _did_ she recollect?

_Nothing._

_I don't remember anything past a certain point_, she thought morosely. _Mystical Monkey Power on mating season the night before and then a whole black-out the next? Doesn't sound good. It _sounds _like the only possible time _that _could have occurred at all. And… and _after_ that night…_

Again Kim's shoulders slumped as everything came together. _After that night, his crazy-on-high monkey power left. _She thought bitterly, _And_ _why is that, Possible? Maybe because it got what it wanted. I remember everything about every other time we were together except then. (Whoah, wait, does that mean Wade was _wrong

So it had to be then, right? Did Ron even remember? Kim hung her head, _that was the only we were… like… _that

It _is_ Ron.

She… and Ron… they… Never had Kim blushed so brightly in her entire life, she could have lit up the entire Tri-City. There was relief, relief that she had discovered the 'when' and relief that it was Ron. Then there was fright and panic that it _was_ Ron. What was inside her… was her. _And_ Ron. Yet she remembered _nothing_.

Kim sucked in a great breath, a huge, shaking, rattling breath then breathed out.

_This is stupid. _

_Stupid._

Stupid

_STUPID._

_My parents are going to _kill _me, there's no way they're going to trust me or Ron again and Ron's probably going to have a freak attack and might avoid me and there's no way I can compete in Nationals and I won't be able to go to University and, and…my life is over. _

SO _over._

It was now a one-hundred percent fact—Kim had been condemned.


	14. Prelude to Stability

To All of my wonderful, WONDERFULreviewers: Rufus 986, DigiSim, Ace Ian Combat, Zaratan, Ultra Sonic 007, JPMod, continental-line, Ezbok58a, conan98002, Classic Cowboy, The Infernal, ZDafara470, John Steppenwolf, Ultimate Naco Topping, techgeekster, Hilary moore, LJ Fan, memoirs of a faded memory, nessa92, Razzle Jazzle, Cold Chaos, thsunami, Rachel J. Lupin, daydream11, Gryfffinrose, momike, AtractivaMorena, Deyinel, CardCrazy, Redzin Himself (oh, great, now I'm not only gonna get sued for killing peoples ears with 'Mousse, Rince, Obei', now I'ma get sued for killing peoples eyes with my story (B--), ziggert.z, Larie-chan, eViLrEadEr, Stoppable-san, Char & Loo (Loo who? Never heard of her before.)

You guys leave some really awesome, beautiful comments and although I don't respond to each and every one, I'm so thankful for all the kind words you've said on my writing and my story. It really, _really_ does mean tons to me. Now with that being said:

**This is the LAST instalment of Obscure Ways to Devotion!**

Yes, it's hard to believe, I know it is for me.I can _not_ believe I've worked this long on Equal Romance. To think I almost gave it all up when I hit certain instalments (early Tension Living comes to mind omg shudder'd). And even more unbelievable are the people who kept reading since instalment ONE of Tension Living! You guys, _ALL_ of you guys even, are spectacular and I'm so thrilled you find interest in this crazy story. Now that this is the last of Obscure Ways to Devotion, I've got to say it again: **this is not the end of Equal Romance!** Those of you should remember, this is a _**trilogy**_ and there _is_ one more story left. Wow, one more and it'll all be over it still shocks me. If you have added me to your author's alert list, you will be notified of when the next story comes out, I've already been writing it. And trust me, it's definately _not_ what you guys think it will be about XD; Really, you can only think of one thing it'll be about after reading this instalment and it won't be the main theme I can say that much. You'll have to come back to find out ;D

Because this is the last of this story, I'll take the time to address some of the recent reviews.

-- "_So is this story going to reflect your views on abortion?"_

NO. Ew, no. Good question though.

-- "_Technically, a baby isn't considered a parasite."_

I know that.It was in character biased dialogue even added with 'as Kim so called it'.

-- "_Though when I was first reading this chapter I was worried that Ron might have magicaly absorbed the pregnancy when he was found lying over her stomach and he was sick that morning."_

ROFLMAO. it's like, _my name's WOMEN_ & _M_ all rolled into one XD; Thanks for that but sorry, no mpregs here o.o;

-- "_P.S. I noticed there were some dialog missing and miss spealing in the first 1/4 of the chapter, just a heads up. Later again!"_

Muh? I scanned & didn't notice anything missing and my spelling was fine, I'm _pretty_ sure. Are you perhaps picking up on my Canadian way of spelling things? Sorry I can't be of any more help!

-- "_is Kim impregnated with her own MMP?_"

Actually, Kim doesn't have Mystical Monkey Power. Only Ron, Rufus & Monkey Fist. And Loo's already having Monkey Fist's baby (although she's still in intense denial about it!) so it could be either Rufus or Ron and I don't know about you but I think I spelled it out pretty clear it was Ron.

And that's all. So with that being done, go on and read the very last instalment of Obscure Ways to Devotion. I'm very sorry for the long wait for the update, I hope that won't happen for the next time. It'll be fun to get the nextstory out.Enjoy, thanks again!

-A. King

* * *

¤ Instalment 14 »» _Prelude to Stability_ ¤

We began to shine- if it's us, we'll grasp tomorrow sometime, right?

We began to flap- if it's them, then they'll find a shining tomorrow, right?

-Ayumi Hamasaki, '_Boys& Girls_'

* * *

It was Monday and Ron was looking forwards to picking Kim up at her house on their way to school. He had called her relentlessly over the weekend, Friday too, but she had never answered back. In the cases when her parents had answered the phone, they relayed a 'busy' message from Kim: 'Homework, and all that'. 'Thanks', Ron had replied to them but he knew that wasn't the case. Not seeing each other for the whole weekend? Just because of something like homework? No, something was up.

And Ron still couldn't believe _why_ she was avoiding him. Why was she punishing him like this? Yet even though Ron _knew_ the reason why, he still wasn't going to bring it up. Not yet. It was uncomfortable; it wasn't a topic Ron favoured. After all, he himself was still coming to terms with being confronted by Kim about it. So instead, Ron would ignore it until Kim brought it up (which he knew it would be) and in the meantime, try to mend the communications bridge between them.

"Yo, Mrs Dr P! Is Kim ready for school?" Ron implored heartily at Kim's front door on that very Monday morning.

"I'm sorry, Ron, but she left already, oh dear," Mrs Possible laid a palm to her cheek.

"She left already?" Ron asked, perplexed.

"Is there some trouble between the two of you?"

"No, no, not at all, no. At least, I didn't think so," he added with a touch of darkness. "It's ok. I'll go and meet up with her at school, thanks anyway!"

"You're welcome, Ron; bye!"

Ron glanced at Rufus on his shoulder and hung his head as he dwelled on his way to school. "This isn't right," he told his pal, "She shouldn't be holding from me this long."

"Nu-uh," Rufus agreed.

"I don't deserve to be treated like this!"

"Nu-uh!"

"I thought she learned a thing or two."

"Mmm."

"I know, buddy. She makes it awfully hard."

Rufus only shook his head sympathetically.

Ron mulled it all over as he trudged to school, his hands tightly wringing his backpack straps. He wasn't sure why, but he was feeling a little anxious about meeting up with Kim. Hopefully when he did, she'd be in a friendly mood. The least she could do was _pretend_ everything was all okay like what Ron was doing, that'd work for him too. No more skittish acts like Friday after school, please and thank-you.

Too bad for Ron, it didn't turn out that way.

"Yo, Kimila!" Ron called out over the hallway chatter of the Middleton High students. He had just come in the front doors when he immediately spied Kim over by her locker. Did she hear him? He thought he saw a reaction, but she didn't turn around to greet him.

"What's shakin', you had a rough week with homework or something?" Ron laughed conversationally as he approached her. "I called bunches but you never answered or your parents said you were busy. Everything cool?" Ron stood and blinked for an awfully long time until he received a response.

"Of course everything's cool," Kim suddenly whipped around and presented Ron with, what was, one of _the_ most fake-smiles Ron had ever seen in his entire life. He glared at her. "Why wouldn't it be?"

He crossed his arms, "That' what I'd like to know," he replied edgily. "It doesn't take a brain surgeon to know something's been up wit 'chu."

"WereyoutalkingtomyMom!"

Ron's eyes flew open. "What… uh, KP… you're scaring me…"

"Oh, haha! Nothing, you just startled me there for a moment," Kim rested a hand on her chest and leaned her head back.

"Well, I'm glad you're back at school for morning classes!" he exclaimed joyously. "Glad you're feeling better. I, um, guess you got a lotta rest then during the weekend?"

"Oh, um… yeah. I did, thanks," Kim replied awkwardly and she started to flush. Ron leaned forwards with curiosity and she flushed even further trying to side-step away from him. "I had a big dinner last night. Breakfast too."

Ron nodded, not sure why, but somehow this must relate to being sick. "That's good then. I really missed you," He reached and laid a hand on her shoulder when she flashed into action, leaping back and shivering.

"KP..?"

"D-don't, Ron. I, uh, rather you not. Okay?"

"Sure? I was just touching your shoulder—"

"Thanks. Look, I'll see you in class, okay?"

"Huh?"

Kim shut her locker delicately, slung her pack over her shoulder and waved an awkward goodbye to Ron, finally touched by her recently patented Fake-Smile of hers.

Ron was not taking to these fake-smiles nor Kim's odd behaviour at all. In fact, it was making Ron feel a little on the _angry_ side that she was acting this way because of his _very own_ decision. Ron didn't like having this guilt forced upon him like this.

Grunting with distaste, Ron opened his locker, stored away his afternoon textbook and binder and dashed off to class to meet up with Kim. She was in her seat, sitting straight and primly writing in her student planner. The seat next to her was empty so Ron stole it and moved the desk a little closer to Kim.

Right before Ron was about to whisper to Kim, the bell rang and the teacher called the student's attention forwards. Heaving a sigh, he said under his voice to Kim, "We're talking later, ok?"

Kim said nothing, however, her shivering did.

Ron decided to let Kim be for the time being through the morning classes, after all, she had been sick a lot quite recently and pressuring her wouldn't be the best solution. But that didn't mean he was flat-out ignoring her. He conversed with her as normal, asking to borrow things to what that last note was and she would interact with, well, with as little interaction as possible. In the middle of class wasn't exactly the time to bring up what Ron sense could easily turn into an argument. Even with Kim's peculiar distancing-behaviour, Ron still empathised with Kim and if she was recovering from being ill, she didn't need the stress of a fight with him to bear on her.

Well, it certainly wasn't his intention when the bell rang for Lunch and he realised Kim was no longer at his side.

"Where are you going?" Ron questioned curiously. He turned around to face Kim who was standing far behind him looking awkward and hesitant. He trotted up to her, concerned. "Hey, you ok?"

"You don't have to keep asking me that," she replied a little annoyed, but the confusion in her voice shone through.

"I keep asking because I keep seeing you _not_ ok," Ron reached for her wrist and took it in his hand. "Let's go down to the caf and grab some lunch, hokay? You look like you need some food in your belly," (Kim's eyes almost flew apart when he said that.) "You're looking pale 'n stuff." Then he said in a low soothing voice, "I don't want you getting' sick again. The way that you're acting makes me worry."

Ron reached out to gently take her arm, but she pulled away. "I'll," she stuttered, "I'll meet you there. I need to, um… go. Elsewhere." Kim took a few steps away from him and brushed some hair out of her face. "I'll meet you there."

"No, Kim," Ron shook his head. "There's nowhere you need to go."

"You don't know that," her voice became slightly tempered again.

"Kim, I'm only trying to care for you," Ron fought to keep this words hushed. He didn't want it announced to the school; he was a guy, after all. "Will you show a little caring back?"

But as he said that, Kim's back was already turned on him and he could no longer see her expression. Did she even hear a word he said? "I said I'll meet you there. Don't act like I'm never going to see you again."

Ron clicked his tongue and sagged his shoulders. "What are you talking about? This doesn't have anything—" He huffed and placed his hands on his hips as he watched Kim walk away from him in mid-sentence. Shaking his head, he headed to the cafeteria where he'd try and find some chat with Felix.

Before heading in the cafeteria line, he spotted his buddy and waved to him. With his food tray in his hands, Ron slid into an empty chair next to Felix. Finally, he'd be able to shed a little of his _own_ stress and just talk gaming with his pal. Although, even as he talked about blasting apart the innards of a zombie, he couldn't help but feel that Kim was giving him the cold-shoulder on purpose.

Meanwhile, Kim didn't know where she was headed to, to be honest. She was feeling antsy again and couldn't help but feel remote from the other students as she walked by them chatting at their lockers. She didn't fit in any more now that this had happened to her, she was _different_ now. Some of the students would look at her as she walked by to which Kim quickly adverted her eyes. Paranoia was setting in and she began to feel like everyone in Middleton High had x-ray eyes and could see right through her and at the secret she was carrying, constantly and literally.

Only a few more months in this building and it would all be behind her, never would she have to look back at it and most of the students within. Kim looked down as she walked aimlessly through the halls. The plan _had_ been to send away her university applications and start attending next Autumn. But how likely was that now? Everything would be thrown out of whack. Even now as she walked she pondered the possibility of doubt, hoping that she was wrong, that the _results_ were wrong. Yet inside, Kim knew it has true.

How much time would she have to put off with this… _thing_? How much time would she have to wait before she could continue higher educations? Would Ron go on without her? What if… what if she told Ron and Ron decided he wanted to go on with university and live at the dorm? She'd never see him, that's what. It wouldn't matter to her if he called from time to time, it wasn't the same and it wasn't what she wanted. There were so many options and yet it felt to Kim like she was on a single path.

And it wasn't all just about the future and where to-morrow would place her, it was the _here_ and _now_ too. Like Ron. Every time he approached her, touched her or spoke softly to her, she had to pull away. He didn't know what was going on, he did this to her. And how dare he be all 'I'm just trying to care for you'? Kim snorted audibly.

_You won't have that same thought when you find out what's _really _going on_.

In all of Kim's walkings, she found that her feet had led her to the sewing room. Taking a peek inside, Kim poked her way inside, trying to seek out Monique. And as usual, there her friend was. Kim almost choked when she saw her friend sitting on a stool in a circle with three of girls, all of them sewing. They looked like a circle of… Kim's eyes dropped to her stomach and away again, _Don't_ _even say it, Possible_.

"Hey, Monique!" Kim cleared her throat and called.

"Oh, hey Kim!" Monique leaned back in her seat to try and glimpse Kim making her way over. "What's up? Come to join us?"

"Briefly," Kim replied. "I was just taking a walk when I thought I'd hang with you. How's it going? Working on some projects?"

The girls giggled. "As usual," Monique smiled. "Not the final, of course, just some, you know, work up to it! Still worth a good percentage. Sorry I'm rarely eating with you and Ron in the caf."

"Oh, uh, don't worry," Kim smiled pleasantly.

"But then you know how it is," Monique continued, reverting back to her stitching. "You're an over-achiever; you must be working your tail off like crazy getting things done."

Kim opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

"This is it," Monique went on, not noticing Kim's falter. "This is what marks you for _life_. This is what decides our next step, everything we've been working towards for the field of our choice—"

"Yeah," Kim _had_ to interrupt. "I, um, I get it," she gave a nervous laugh.

Monique nodded, still looking down at her sewing and not taking much notice of how uncomfortable Kim was with the direction of this conversation. "It's just all happening at once, I can't wait," she sighed heavily in swoon. "Finally, all this High School stuff is going to be left behind and I can work on where I'm meant to be in life." Monique bounced her bare legs in anticipation eagerly. "Ooo, girl, it's just so exciting!"

Kim's smile was crippled by her darkened thoughts.

"That's good to hear," she replied in a soft voice. "You're right. You've worked hard for the next step and you get to go there, nothing standing in your way…"

"Nothing!" Monique grinned with determination. "Nu-uh, girl, no way is anything going to stand in my way!"

"Nothing at all?" Kim asked cautiously. "What if something happened to-morrow and you couldn't go through with your future plan? What would you do then?"

"Keep on going, that's what," Monique replied, nodding. She did a few more stitches before placing the fabric in her lap and lifting her head to the ceiling, her eyes dazzling. "It doesn't matter! I know what I'm meant to do. I don't care if there's a great big barricade in front of me, I'm going to blare on through it! You're the same, aren't you Kim?"

_I thought I was…_

"What if you can't knock down that wall?" she said to herself, but Monique thought Kim was asking her.

"Then I have friends who can help me and I'd help them."

Kim began to blush, thankfully, Monique and returned her gaze to her sewing.

"If I can't knock down that wall myself, I need more strength and where am I going to get it from?"

"You can count on me," Kim laughed nervously again.

"And _you_ can count on _me_," Monique winked. Then the smile on her face fell and she again allowed her hands to droop as she stared at Kim. "Oh my gosh! I didn't see it, Kim, I'm sorry, is there something wrong!"

"Oh!" Kim replied, startled. "No, no not at all. Just, rambling!"

"Ah-huh, _sure_." The expression on Monique's face told Kim her friend wasn't buying that at _all_.

"_Alright_, I'm _nervous_," Kim lied. Well, it wasn't actually a lie, she _was_ nervous. It just wasn't the _whole_ answer. "I'm just nervous about the future. About anything that could get in my way."

Monique snorted down a laugh. "Huh! And you're asking _me_ for advice? You're the can-do-anything girl, not me! C'mon, Kim, where's your head at? Look, the butterflies are _normal_, I have them too! But that's just it, they're _only_ butterflies, it means you're doing something right."

"Really?" This earned a genuine laugh from Kim.

"That's what I think," Monique shrugged, returning to her sewing. "Besides, there's nothing that can stand in _your_ way for too long. 'Sides you have Ron at your side, you know he's, like, your yes-man. No offence to the guy _at all_."

Kim bristled at the sound of Ron's name. "Unless the same thing happens to him," she said with a little too much vindication.

"So you rub his back, he rubs yours; help each other out! Come on, _you_ can do anything, and he helps you, so you have one unstoppable team going on there." Monique lifted her head, "Whoah, no pun intended." Shaking her head, she returned to her stitching.

"I guess," _Unless he doesn't want to_.

"Nu-uh, none of that Kim," Monique clicked her tongue. "No 'I guesses', that'll only bring you down! It's positive talk, positive-thinking all the way. Okay, Kim, remind me why we're having this conversation if you're just 'nervous'."

More laughter from Kim, "We're not, I'm leaving!" Kim stood up, pushing her stool back. "But thanks for the talk, Monique. It helped."

"Helped with what?" Monique shot back suspiciously.

"Never you mind!" Kim called back merrily over her shoulder as she left the room.

"I'M CALLING YOU, GIRL."

Walking out of the sewing room, Kim decided she wasn't quite ready to join up with Ron in the cafeteria yet, there was still a little walk left in her so she would finish her walk around the school. As she floated by the students, she couldn't help but dwell on what Monique had told her. Especially about Ron.

_Ah, Monique,_ Kim thought, shaking her head form side to side. _If only you new my _real _sitch, you wouldn't be saying all of that talk. Ron can't help me with this… he _caused _this. He's clueless about everything and it'd only freak him out. Besides, I haven't even made_ my _decision yet, this steely determination of hers could go with either decision I choose. Why bother him with something that he might not even have to know? I've no idea where I'm going with this at all… No, if I don't even know, Ron surely can't know…I wish this never happened…_

While delving into her thoughts, Kim lifted her head and realised she was walking right past the art room. Walking by, she spotted Josh Mankey inside at a canvas doing some mad painting. Thinking about what Monique had said, Kim decided to ask another friend's opinion. Maybe Josh had a different light to shed on the matter and would give her some advice she could use.

"Oh, hi, Josh," Kim called, her voice soft as she looked into the art room and noticed a few other students doing their own painting or sculpting.

Josh turned around from the canvas and greeted Kim with a smile. "Hey, Kim! Come on over. What brings you here?"

Kim walked up to Josh and eased herself onto a table next to him. "I was just walking around the school and I saw you in here. I thought maybe I could ask you a question."

"Oh?" Josh asked, adding a few touches to his painting. "And what's this?"

"I was talking to Monique just a few minutes ago and we were talking about the future, about where we were going next after graduation. What's your opinion?"

"My opinion?" he asked, "On what? Graduating?"

Kim shrugged. "The future, your plan, where you're going next. That kind of thing, I guess."

"Are you having second thoughts?"

"Well… it's not that exactly," Kim looked away as she fought to find the exact words. "It's just things might not go as I planned. I'd like to hear what my friends are planning on doing, it could help me."

"I see," Josh nodded and placed his paintbrush down as he thought. "I'm going to Upperton Institute of the Arts, I've had my eyes set on it since I was little and I've been working very hard to go there on a scholarship. You've heard the term 'starving artist', right?"

Kim laughed conversationally. "I have. But don't you have an alternative?"

"What do you mean?"

"What if… something got in the way and you couldn't go to that Institute. What would you do? Don't you have some kind of, er, I dunno, 'second plan'?"

"Mm," Josh said knowingly. "We all have the places we want to go, we all have a plan that we've set out for ourselves. But yea, things do happen and sometimes it forces you to change your plan, or maybe it even _takes_ the plan away from you. And even if I want to go to the UppArts, so what if I end up somewhere else? The important thing is I still have my art and if I'll always have the skills that I have, a school doesn't change that."

"Nor does time…" Kim mumbled to herself, playing around with the lanyard bracelet around her wrist.

-ø-

"I thought you said Kim was coming to join us?" Felix announced to Ron after wrapping up another one of their video game conversations. "Lunch is almost over, where is she?"

"I-I'm not sure," Ron admitted. He had forgotten all about the time, in fact, he would have kept on forgetting if Felix hadn't had brought it up. Ron sat up, attentive and looked all around himself, Rufus scuttled onto his forehead for extra surveillance yet she wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Maybe I'll go look for her," Ron said, pushing himself out of his seat. "I'll try and make it back with her before the bell rings, but just in case I don't, I'll catch you later, ok?"

"Sure thing, Ron."

Picking up his tray, he stacked it away and headed through the cafeteria doors. He wasn't sure why, but he was starting to feel a little panicky. Kim hadn't been feeling well _and_ she was distressed, she shouldn't be wandering around with her head being as willy-nilly as it was. _Oh man, I should have glued our hands together or something. What if she passed out or is doing something way stupid? _Or Kim could quite possibly be somewhere plausible, but then again… Wait a minute. What if…

Last time Ron had been searching for her when she had exited from the cafeteria, Ron had discovered her having a 'conversation' with Josh Mankey.

Go 'Elsewhere'? So abruptly and then pull away from him so intently? She _knew_ where she was going, didn't she? _Huh! 'Meet be back in the caf', yea right!_

A sick feeling churned in his mind as he remembered the two of them together and he had a sudden flash of anxiety. With that memory so fresh, his mind began to whisper for him to run, run, run to the art room. If she was there…

Instantly, Ron bolted for the art room on the other side of the school. He sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him, his fists slinging at his sides in rhythm. Ron streaked past students, his sneakers squeaking on the shiny surface leaving streak-marks; his face knotted with fraught and determination he couldn't help but think dark thoughts.

_I don't get this! Why does is nil me trying to comfort her and go to Josh instead? What'd I do _this _time!_

"Oh!"

Ron skidded to a halt loudly when he reached the very doorway of the art room. Panting heavily, his chest heaving greatly, he stared at the two people in the room. His intuition had been correct. The loud sounds of Ron's approach caught Kim and Josh's attentions and for the moment, the three of them just stared at each other.

Kim was sitting on a desk a distance from Josh as he was painting on a canvas. They weren't the only ones in the rooms actually, there were three other students working on artwork of their own. They too were staring with shock at Ron from his entrance. As his eyes meandered all around the scene, trying to take it all in, he felt a small dash of reassurance as he saw Kim's hand playing with the bracelet _he_ had given her on her wrist.

Once Ron had caught his breath substantially, he forced himself into the room, trying hard to ignore the eyes staring at him, as he made his way over to Kim.

"Hey," Ron choked out.

"Hey," Josh replied instead, giving him a smile.

Ron couldn't help but squint at his response. He turned to Kim to read her response, and stood rigid when he saw that Kim was looking at him with great intensity. She wasn't angry nor she was she embarrassed or even exasperated as he guessed she might have been at the very least. It was more as if… she was studying him. It gave him a little more bravery (he didn't have much).

"Whatcha painting?" Ron inquired.

Josh took a step to the side to allow Ron to take a look. "It's for a realism project," he replied, "It's not done, but I'm hoping it'll look like a thirteenth century village portraying their outward struggle with the tyrannical era encompassing them when I'm done."

"Oh, yea, cool. Great with that."

"What brings you here?" Josh asked, sounding light-hearted.

"Uh, yea, that. Oh, see, I was looking for Kim," he turned to face her and still her expression did not change. It was like she was observing him layer by layer, now it was beginning to make him nervous instead of brave. "We were supposed to meet in the caf so I've been searching for her. Searching _everywhere_, really," he added.

"We've just been chatting," Josh replied. He raised his eyebrows at Ron and said a little quieter: "_Just_ talking. That was quite an entrance you made."

"Heh, yea, thanks. I mean… oh yea, no, of course, I get that. I just said I was looking for her. Hungry?" he asked Kim.

"H'm?" Kim shivered as if snapping out of a trance. "Oh, okay," she slipped off of the table, touching the floor lightly on the tips of her feet as if she was carrying one of the fragile sculpture in the art room. "Bye, Josh."

"See ya, Kim."

Ron walked a little closer than what was necessary to Kim as they walked side-by-side out of the art room, all eyes but Josh's still on them. Only when they were out of the art room and well on their way towards the cafeteria did Ron speak.

"So, Kim, why, uh, why were you in the art room? I thought we were going to eat lunch together. Y'know, only because we have been since, like, forever 'n stuff."

"I needed his opinion on something."

"Oh? Opinion? What about mine? Can I help?"

"You didn't have to storm into the art room," Kim replied, sounding nettled. Ron didn't miss that she had completely avoided her question. "It made me feel like you didn't trust me." Kim's eyes flashed towards Ron in the corners.

"O-of course I do, it's not about that," Ron replied, tripping over his own tongue. "You're not well, I just wanted to make sure you were okay—"

"You keep saying that!" she retorted. "Nothing's 'wrong' with me! It's nothing 'wrong'! It's _not_ 'wrong'!"

"I, uh, I didn't even say the word 'wrong'…"

"Well it's not anyway!" Kim whipped her head away from him, her brow knotted tightly in an anger Ron didn't understand.

"You're right," she said finally after a silence that passed between them. They stopped walking. "I-I'm not feeling well… I'm sorry, Ron."

"Hey, it's okay. We all get a bit grouchy when we're sick," Ron spread his hands out in a motion of calling peace. "Maybe you should go home and rest? As much as I want you here with me, I'm more concerned about your health right now." _And you're acting like I should put you in an institute._

"What, like, I can't take care of myself? Like I'm suddenly crippled?" Kim's voice again began to pick up that heated tone.

"You just said—"

"I'm not well… but I'm not handicapped."

Ron heaved a great, large sigh, "Kim, what in the—"

The sound of the bell rang above their heads.

"I'll meet you in class," she stated just like this morning and turned right around to head to History class.

"B-but don't you…" she was far too out of earshot to even hear him.

He couldn't believe that she was just leaving him behind after lunch without hauling him to class and gluing him into his seat so he wouldn't go and vomit up his lunch. It was exactly the same as when she left him standing in the hallways with the Bueno Nacho money after school.

Whipping around, Ron stormed his way to his locker where he brought out his backpack and after school text and binder. He had the inexplicable urge to smash his head repeatedly against his locker door. This time, he was going to head straight to class without taking his usual little 'detour'.

_It's not that I'm giving in, _Ron told himself with a stiff upper lip. _I just don't feel like it to-day, that's all_. But he couldn't help but feel a little downcast as he thought of Kim relying on him to make the decision that she thought was 'right'. Maybe he was doing it because of her, but he didn't have to admit it to himself. He was still in control.

Ron arrived in History class with his book and binder under his arms and thunked them onto his available desk next to Kim. He tried to catch her eyes as if to say 'I was fast so I didn't go and puke this time, cheer up, kay?', but even with the great big thunk of his text book, she didn't look up.

Instead, Ron noticed she was… drawing in the back of her student planner.

_Drawing!_ He thought acidly. _Drawing right after she came out of the art room with Josh the Artist! _Not _a good sign here, Stoppable._

"Whatcha drawing?" he asked, slipping into his seat.

"Nothing much," Kim replied simply and shut the planner shut, storing it back into her backpack.

"Oh, well can I see later?"

Kim shrugged, now flipping out her History textbook. "Doesn't matter."

Feeling a little hurt, Ron flipped through the pages of his textbook sullenly. The final bell rang and the teacher asked for them to hand in their last class' homework. Sighing, Ron brought it his homework and passed it forwards. It was going to be a _long_ and _boring_ class…

Just as Ron thought he was going to lose another one of his lives due to extreme boredom, the bell rang. Thankfully, it was Monday and there was only one after-Lunch class. But of course Kim and Ron still had one last place to be in Middleton High.

"Time to hit the gym for cheer practice!" Ron said buoyantly to Kim as he shoved all of his books into his backpack.

"Yup," Kim replied more to herself as she gave her student planner one last look before storing away her own things into her bag.

Kim and Ron made their way in stride to their lockers where they stored away their school bags and pulled out their gym duffel bags. Kim said nothing as she departed into the girls change room to dress into her cheer uniform while Ron bypassed a few of the girls streaming into the gym, as he went into the boys changing room.

Ron, as usual, was the first to finish changing into his sweats. He brought out the stereo that was normally locked in the gym storage and set it out for the girls to use.

As the girls eventually emerged from the changing room to gather near the pile of pom-poms to do their stretches, Ron noticed Kim standing to one side with that student planner of hers out and was now writing in the back of it.

He wondered in intense curiosity why Kim wasn't joining in the stretches. She _did_ change so wasn't she going to participate, right? Pushing himself off the bench and picking up Rufus gingerly and placing his pet onto his shoulder, Ron strolled up to Kim, hoping he wouldn't give her a start.

"Hey, KP," he said in a low voice and craned his head over his shoulder to spy what she was writing. "Is this your drawing you were working on earlier?"

"Oh!" Kim looked a little started and she did a little nervous foot dance as if she wasn't sure if she was going to stay where she was, take a step away, or take a step closer to Ron. But she gave him an overly-kind smile regardless. "I'm finishing what I was working on in History class," she said and took that step away from him.

"This was what you were drawing then?"

"Yes, I'm trying a new floor plan for a new routine."

"What?" Ron yelped and Kim quickly gave him a dirty look a hushed him.

"Not so loud, I'll tell the girls after their stretches."

Ron quickly scanned her notes and sketch, not that he was able to understand all the terms and names. "Do you think they can learn a new routine? I mean, which one are you working on? There's one for the games coming up and then there's the one for Nationals…"

"Both," Kim replied, "It's not that hard—"

"Can you two please _stop_ with the sweet-nothings?" Bonnie's obnoxious voice rose from behind them. Kim and Ron turned to look at the squad; they had finished their stretches and now all were watching the both of them. "Hello? This is _not_ the time and the place! I want to have a _stable_ stomach for practice, uh, _EW_."

A few of the girls giggles, some gave Bonnie a scowling look, including Kim.

"I'm coming," Kim called and walked up to them; Ron took a seat on the bench as he listened in. "I was just telling Ron that we're going to be changing our routines."

Immediately one long and loud, "Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?" issued from the girls. They tossed their heads back, slumped their backs and complained some more.

"You mean even the one for the game next week?"

"What for!"

"We're supposed to know a whole _new_ routine?"

"This is _so_ unfair."

"Yeah, why _are_ you changing it?" Marcella asked. Confronted, all of the other girls nodded insistently and Ron spotted Kim taking a step back, appearing very nervous. Odd, she was never one to be intimidated, especially by her own squad.

_Yeah, Kimbo, why _are _you changing it?_

"Don't worry!" Kim responded, flashing her white teeth at them. "It's not much, in fact, it's basically the same. I'm _just_ taking out a few jumps and flips—"

"I hope you're not taking them out on the Nationals routine too," Hope declared and a few other girls voiced her concern.

Kim sucked on her lips and her eyes darted from girl to girl. "Yeah, but just a few—"

"Okay, are you, like, _so_ wanting us to lose this competition, K.?" Bonnie smacked her lips and rolled her eyes back. "How can you expect us to win without the jumps? Do you _know_ how many tech points they're worth?"

"I didn't say _which_ ones I took out, _Bonnie_," Kim snort back.

"You had better not have taken out mine."

"I didn't."

Bonnie's eyes flew open and she looked from Tara on her left to Hope on her right. Bonnie opened her mouth as if to speak, but no words came out. So instead she was left to stand there in utter shock.

_Heh, I guess that's the closest Kim will ever come to a 'thank-you' out of Bonnie_, Ron smirked.

"So," Kim clapped her hands together to attain the squad's attention. "Don't fret about the new routines, it'll be no big, trust me. Now pick up your pom-poms, girls and I'll start explaining what to do, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Let's go!"

The girls, Kim included, scooped up their pom-poms from the pile and skirted over to the centre of the gymnasium for ample space to practice. Ron noticed the look on Kim's face just before she turned her back on him to join in with the rest. He'd seen that face before— it was something he had learned back in Autumn during their shift: it was a mask. Ron tilted his head as he watched Kim, now far away, dictate the new routine for next weeks game. It was so obvious to him that she was pretending that everything was fine when her body language told Ron otherwise. Something was still bothering her and Ron couldn't stop the churning feeling in the pit of his stomach telling him the bother was not a 'thing' but rather a '_who_'.

"Track three!" Kim called to Ron when she was finished explaining the new routine to the girls and they were ready to begin practicing it to the music.

"You got it!" he called back and hit the play button on track three.

As practice went on, Ron joined in and frustrated Bonnie to the combusting-point, but was only doing this when she was being particularly nasty to Kim for which Kim was grateful to Ron for. At least, he _thought_ that's what her expression read; there were still some of those 'uncomfortable' vibes issuing from her.

The girls were quickly catching on to the new routine. In fact, Ron wasn't even quite sure why Kim said she had cut some of the jumps, most of the girls kept theirs. Only a few of the girls, including Kim, were now solidly on the ground doing dances, twirls, shimmies and parapara, most of the dances were practically the same. What was the big?

Kim congratulated the girls at the end of practice for performing their new routine as well as they did for their first time.

"Just remember guys," Kim advised, lifting a finger, "Don't confuse the two, it's double kick on the end, them forward-hip-wink, not back-flip. And it's not two-toe high-kick, jump, twirl, jump, it's—"

"_Alright_, Kim," Bonnie moaned, placing her palm in her hand and sighing. "We get it, we get it a thousand-times over. We're not little kids." This remark received an odd reaction out of Kim. "Let's just go, I have mall-time to catch-up on."

The girls dispersed into the change rooms, Ron did the same after locking away the stereo. Again, he was one of the first to emerge so he hung around the changing room door to wait for Kim. After not seeing her at all on the weekend and the failing of their conversations all day, he felt like they had some catch-up of their own to work on and what better place for that than Bueno Nacho? He was starving and couldn't wait to chow down at his favourite restaurant with his best gal pal.

"Kim!" Ron leapt at her the instant she emerged, he didn't want her sneaking away from him.

"Aah!" Kim let out a small startled scream and a hand flew to her chest. "Don't do that! You almost sent me to my grave, geesh, Ron," she gave him a worried look.

Ron shrugged the comment off. "Want to hit Bueno Nacho? It's been awhile, I said I missed you lot over the weekend and I think—"

"Oh, um… no…" Kim began to flush once again. "I don't think I should."

"Why not?" this time, the curiosity in Ron's voice was replaced by slight agitation and added with a bit of venom: "Got somewhere else to be?" Kim looked up at him anxiously and he began to feel a little guilty for his tone of voice. "I mean, like," he said, lighting up, "A _whole_ weekend, KP. That's a long time for us… right?"

Kim turned her head away. "It is. It's… a long time…" She lifted her head to him and looked him in the eyes. "I want to…" Then she shuddered violently, the reason why she was distancing herself from Ron flooded back when she felt Ron place a hand on her bare shoulder. She shut her eyes and tried _so_ hard to shove away the affliction his touch caused her. Her best friend, she adored him, but…

"There's something wrong, isn't there? You keep avoiding it when I bring it up. How can we fix it if you keep on running away?" Saying this reminded Ron of the times before, when he tried to bridge something up between them. But the look on Kim told Ron he wasn't breaking through and he anticipated Kim's reply, but when she did, it shocked him.

"I'm sorry," she said.

Ron recoiled.

Her eyes darted to her bracelet to him. "I really am but… Later, ok? We, um, we'll _have_ to later." As she said this, Kim backed away from him, walking backwards. Before she twirled around completely to speed-walk away, she said daringly: "And maybe you can figure it out for yourself."

Again, Ron stood alone to watch Kim flee. Away from _him_.

He sighed and was about to turn to Rufus curled around his neck when a subdued voice serenely called his name from behind. Twirling around, he spotted Tara gazing at him with distress in those vibrant blue eyes.

"Is everything alright?" she asked, her voice quiet.

"Uh—"

"Augh, _Tara_." Bonnie strutted out of the changing room with Hope at her side. "Please don't tell me you still speak to this loser." Her lip curled as she looked Ron up and down and he sent her an icy gaze in return, expressing the mutual dislike. "You, I and Hope have a date with the mall, to-day. You're coming with us."

"Oh, um," Tara stuttered, fumbling with her fingers.

"It's okay," Ron grinned, trying to ease his friend. "Go on ahead with them. I'll be fine, no big."

"I'll catch up, I'll meet you outside the school," Tara replied to Bonnie instead.

"Ew," Bonnie scowled at her friend. "I thought this was all over with, I thought we talked about this—"

"_Bonnie_," Tara exclaimed anxiously. "I said I'll meet you outside!"

"Okay, fine, but I am _not_ going to pull another all-nighter over the phone talking to you about—"

"_Leeeeet's_ go," Hope sighed and shoved Bonnie forwards from her back. "We'll meet you outside, Tara. Come on Bonnie, _I_ don't want to have to pull another all-nighter _myself _listening to another one of your rants…"

It was a good thing Ron wasn't the brightest of boys.

"So what's wrong?" Tara asked. She skipped over to the bleachers and picked a seat a few steps up and patted the space next to her as in invitation for Ron to discuss what was on his mind. "I was just coming out of the changing room when I saw you and Kim. I saw the side of your face, you didn't look too happy. Something happened, am I right?"

"Guh, I don't know if I want to talk about it."

"That's okay too—"

"Yea, actually I will. Okay, Kim's been totally out of whack lately. It's like she's got a virus or something."

"Oh my, is she sick? It's a bacteria you get medicine for, right? I can never remember which…"

"Huh? What? Noooo," Ron shook his head. "It's Kim's 'tude."

"Is she being mean?"

"No, just… really weird around me and I'm getting worried because she's also been spending a lot of time _away_ from me. Did you see her run off just now? She's did it again, she's making these excuses to get away and it's _so_ away from _me_."

"But why..?"

"I dunno, but…"

"But what, Ron?" Tara shuffled a little closer to Ron.

Ron sighed. "See, well, it might not be related to this but, I saw her… uh, to-day at lunch. I saw her with, er… Josh."

"Oh my…" Tara gasped softly and covered her mouth with her hands while shaking her head slowly from side to side.

"Exactly," Ron admitted, sulking. "She was in the art room with him and… I just… didn't expect to see her there of all places. I'm not sure why she was there."

"But you went looking for her there…" Tara questioned.

Ron cast his head away, "But I didn't want to _see_ anything."

"_Did_ you see anything?"

"No, I… I dunno, they were talking."

"But there's nothing wrong with talking," Tara soothed, placing a hand upon Ron's shoulder comfortingly. "We talk all the time. You're not jealous because—"

"No, Tara, not just cos she was _talking_, but remember that conversation before? When I saw them in the hallways?"

"I do."

Ron looked at his palms and muttered bitterly, "I think I'm driving her away this time. I thought it was her, but it's really me this time. _Last _time she was driving us apart and this time it's me. Why else would she go to Josh? We had this all sorted out…"

"Oh, Ron…"

"I'm such an idiot."

"No, you're not!" she insisted and patted his back a few times. "You… you really _care_ for Kim… Everyone knows that. Even Kim."

"Then why is she avoiding me?" he asked gently. "We had that argument I mentioned, the day I first saw her with Josh, and now she's so frustrated that I think she's going to him…"

"Maybe she's going to Josh like you're going to me?"

"Maybe…" Ron replied, harrowed. "But I'm still worried that something might happen between them. Like, why is she spending so much time away from me then? Why didn't she even want to speak to me _all_ weekend?"

"I don't know," Tara replied truthfully. "I'm so sorry you're in this predicament, Ron. I wish I could help you more."

"Heh," Ron leaned back and forced a smile on his face. "Sure you're helping, Tara. You're listening to my ramblings, thanks."

Tara returned Ron with a weak but dazzling smile, "You're welcome." There was a moment of silence between them when Tara finally spoke up again. "You know… if it's you driving the two of you apart, then that means you can do something about it right?"

"Huh?"

"Well…" Tara's eyes wandered around the deserted gymnasium as she contemplated. "You're in control this time, not like last time when you tried and tried and Kim kept saying 'no'. This time, you're like Kim—"

"I'm not hurting her!"

"No… I don't know everything going on. But I think you are… you're hurting yourself, aren't you? Being apart from Kim?"

"Well, _duh_."

"Then you're probably hurting her too," Tara leaned forwards and patted her knees. "You two are so alike and in tune. I bet she's wanted you to come forward and make things right again just like you wanted when she was being mean to you."

"But I'm not being mean."

Tara blushed furiously and looked Ron in the eyes, and stuttered: "Not on purpose."

"Ew," Ron cast his head away and furrowed his brow as he thought on this. "Maybe I am… But I told you before, it's not like I can just say 'sorry', it'll mean… Like, it's not an argument like last time, Tara." Tara tilted her head in question. "I'd have to, like… give in…"

Tara giggled lightly, "I thought she was the prideful one."

Ron laughed as well, "Aw dang, you're right, auuughgh." Ron leaned back burying his head in his hands. "This isn't fair at all…"

"If… if you do plan on bridging your friendship," Tara added cautiously, "You shouldn't wait too long. You know… in case Kim really is drifting away from you…"

Ron sighed. "I wanna think it over some more."

Tara nodded, "It may seem like it's not fair to just you, but I bet Kim feels like it's not fair to her. I bet she's waiting on you. Don't make the same mistake she made. I'm sure she's sorry for it."

"H'm," was Ron's conclusion.

Well Ron spent the entire week turning it over in his mind. It wouldn't be such a huge issue for him to think about, after all, Ron had no problem with just apologising about stuff; Tara was right, _he_ wasn't the one with the big ego. The reason he resisted 'giving in' had nothing to do with his ego, he just… didn't _agree_ with Kim. Was it right to just agree with her when he _knew_ there was nothing wrong? Just for the sake of their friendship? Apart of him deep inside said no, his observations of Kim becoming increasingly distant and silent told him yes.

The week went by and nothing much changed, although Ron did keep an eye on Kim in case she went near Josh again for any more 'opinions', but he didn't see them anywhere near each other. Ron tried to keep in her company, and when they were, like walking down the hallways side by side, she'd walk further away from him than before. It only reminded him of the times they walked close, their shoulders touching: was Ron's 'issue' really distressing her this much? Even her head was leaned away from him. Ron wasn't sure if he should find this insulting or heartbreaking.

"Kim," he had said softly to her one day during the week when she had been at the school for the whole day (and not home sick in the morning like as of frequent). "You feeling alright? Wanna lay down in the nurse's room? You look a little ill." It was a similar conversation that had been popping up all through the week, but he couldn't stop asking, he really was concerned for her. And maybe she'd finally give in and they wouldn't have to continue _his_ topic any more.

Kim had furrowed her brow in frustration. "Why would you think I need to see the nurse?" she asked curtly. "It's not _my_ fault."

"I never said it was," Ron replied, it was hard to keep the ice out of his voice. But then, "Kim, I just…" at that very moment, he felt a wave of compassion and deep internal longing to comfort her and he wasn't quite sure why. Was it guilt? He parted his mouth, was he going to apologise? He wanted to, just to put her at ease and be able to hug her, maybe even spend a night talking with her… but he couldn't do that yet. There wasn't anything he could do to soothe her.

That memory stuck in his head, it was something he didn't like. Always in the past, if Kim was troubled, Ron was right at her side, ready and willing to do anything for her. Well, at least he wasn't making things worse by distancing himself from _her_. He tried all weekend to contact Kim, but the results were the same as the weekend before.

_She's really making this difficult on me_, he thought to himself during the weekend as he sat at his desk, hunched over his homework with Rufus dozing by his side (Rufus was sleeping a lot as of late, something else that worried Ron).

But then he remembered not only what Tara had told him about Kim, but what Kim herself had told him. Ron sat, his pencil held limply in his hand as he stared at nothing, his eyes glazing over. He remembered her on the verge of tears and frustration as she struggled to get across to him how much she cared, the tears pouring down her face as he turned his back on her and sneered. How she tried to come closer to him, to hug him and how Ron resisted and didn't want her anywhere near him and-

Wait.

Where did _that_ memory come from?

Ron sat up in his chair and tapped his chin with his pencil. This memory appeared out of nowhere inside him and yet even as he had it in his mind and could see Kim's emotionally distraught face quite clearly as if it really had happened at one point… But how could it have? He couldn't even put a place to the background. The background was a blank memory, or like a dream where you _know_ what it looks like inside your mind, but you can find no words to describe it. Even though, it was _not_ a dream.

"_Then you're probably hurting her too,"_ Tara's voice reminded him, "_You two are so alike and in tune. I bet she's wanted you to come forward and make things right again just like you wanted when she was being mean to you."_

_Am I really being just like her but, like, differently?_ He asked himself. _Maybe she's… erm, _not _trying to be controlling and know-it-all, maybe…maybe she's doing this stuff not because she's forgetting her promises again, but because she really _does _care about… well, about _me_. Heh, why else would she distant herself from The Ron, right?_

Then he recalled what had happened on last Monday after cheer practice, how Kim said 'I'm sorry'. Ron let his head drop as he thought. As similar as this was to Autumn, he forced himself to admit it wasn't _quite_ the same. For whatever reason Kim was acting the way she was, for the reason she was distancing him and feeling awkward around him, she really _was_ sorry.

_She doesn't want to be away from me. Then that means if she wants to be with me but can't then the problem must be…_Ron lifted his head and realisation came to him and he felt shameful. He had to admit it, he _had_ to: _Me._

_Oh, come on, Stoppable. Just admit it. The problem is me. Not like last time me, but like how Kim was the ish last time. Tara's right, I gotta speak to her seriously. Not just ask her 'what's wrong' all the time. I gotta STEP up and deal with what's wrong, that's why she's been distant with me. She's waiting for it and she's gonna keep being distant with me until she gets it cos it really bothers… no, it really _hurts _her. _

Ron sighed a slumped his cheek into his palm as he flicked his pencil between his middle and pointer finger. _Aw, sometimes I wish I didn't mean that much to her. When I 'died', that really showed it. So many times before too, this being distant isn't her being grr and stuff like when we broke apart, but her being all sad. Ok, got it._

Only now that he had it all figured and laid out in front of him, that meant he had to deal with it. And that meant…

_Giving in._ He sighed again. _Gotta give in and just agree, right? _He looked to Rufus still curled up, the little mole-rat's body rose and lowered as he breathed in his sleep, the little white colour-less hairs on his body rustling. No answers or help from Ron's little buddy to-night.

Being distracted, Ron looked around himself as if hoping to find an answer staring him in front of his face. In fact, the only thing in front of his face (besides his textbook, the green one) was the computer.

"H'm," was indeed Ron's favourite conclusive word.

-ø-

What with all the swirling thoughts of her latest discovery to cloud her mind and affect her behaviour, after _still_ not coming to terms with it completely, Kim completely forgot that her birthday was to-day.

Lately, Kim had been trying to sneak down to the kitchen late at night to fill herself to help avoid intense morning sickness so she'd be able to go to school in the morning. However it had slipped her mind the prior night, Monday, and so on Tuesday morning, she awoke with a horrible sickness inside and she knew she wouldn't be able to go to school that morning. It only irritated her.

"Haaaappy Birthday, sleepy head!" he Father had knocked on the trap door before walking inside her room. "Your Mother said to come and wake you for Breakfast, Ronald will be coming soon."

"Dad," Kim shuffled underneath her blankets. "I don't think I can go again, I'm not feeling well enough! I'm feeling sick again."

"Again?" he asked sounding perplexed. "What a shame, on your birthday! I'll go downstairs and bring your Mother up."

"Um, thanks," Kim gurgled back and picked up the bucket next to her bed. She sighed heavily and leaned her head back on the headboard as she waiting for her Mother to arrive.

"Kimmie, are you sick again?" Mrs Possible asked as she marched up to Kim's bed.

"Yes," Kim moaned, "It's my birthday too…"

"I know, sweetie, I know," her Mother reached out a hand to rest onto Kim's forehead. "Maybe we should think about taking you to a doctor, this really can't go on anymore. You're missing a lot of school and I'm really becoming concerned for you."

"No!" Kim exclaimed, struggling to sit herself up, but her Mother gently pushed her back down. "I'm just _sick_, I'll get better…" Her Mother didn't look convinced. "Look, it's probably because I haven't been resting right? So I'll rest… I'll stay home to-day…"

"All day?"

"Yes," Kim gave in.

"Good. You'll stay in this house until you've fully recovered. I'm sorry you have to feel terrible on your birthday. We can have dinner at home, I hope you'll be well enough for cake."

"I think I will…"

"Oh?"

Kim flushed, and it wasn't because she was feeling ill. "As in 'I hope I will'…"

"You know, Kimmie," Kim perked up at the tone of her Mother's voice. It wasn't stern… but it was a tone that made one want to gulp regardless. "If you continue to feel sick, then we're really going to have to see about taking you to a doctor."

"I know…" Kim stuttered.

"When did you start feeling sick?"

"Huh?"

"We need to know how long this lasts," Mrs Possible explained. "I'm a doctor too, if you hadn't had noticed, maybe I can tell what's going on."

Kim paled. "Um. I don't know, for a few weeks now, I guess," she murmured. "I'm really not," she felt a small burp in her throat. "Feeling up to talking much right now…"

"I understand," (Kim's eyes suspiciously darted to her Mother) "I'll bring some ice cream up before I head to work. If there's anything you want, just ask. We'll be back home from work early to celebrate your special day." ('Special day' made Kim think of some other day.) "Happy Birthday," and she leaned forwards to kiss her daughter on her cheek.

"Thanks, Mom."

So Kim spent the first half of her birthday much like every other home-sick day. Vomiting, tossing and turning, cringing and moaning, but at least she had her ice cream. She was still feeling sick when she crawled out of bed when her belly screamed for more food. So she raided the kitchen and cleaned out, once again, the Possible's household supply of ice cream and other assorted snacks.

Back to her room and on her bed with a bag of chips (Kim wasn't sure which number was the month and which was the year on the bag's expiry date) when the Kimmunicator went off. Curiously, Kim rolled over to pick the Kimmunicator up from her bedside.

"Hey Kim, feeling any better?"

"Wade, uh, how did you know I was feeling sick?" Kim asked, startled.

"Ron told me," Wade admitted, "He asked me to contact you. It's Lunch time at Middleton High, I'm going to patch him through, ok?"

"Uh?"

"Happy Birthday, Kimbo!" Ron exclaimed, enthralled, as Wade's image on the Kimmunicator vanished to be replaced by Ron's.

_So this is what it must look like for Wade,_ Kim thought as she saw Ron from the inside of her locker and saw the hallway behind him.

"Your Mom said you were feeling sick again this morning," (Kim did _not_ like how Ron used 'sick' and 'morning' in the same sentence), "So I thought I'd check in with you to-day. So, babe, think you're coming to school in the afternoon?"

"No," Kim replied, "I promised I'd stay home the whole day and rest. I… really should, after all…"

"Aw, but people wanna say Happy Bday to you! And what about cheer practice? Kim, I haven't seen you all weekend again…"

"You can just tell the girls for me that I want them to practice their new routine."

"Yea, but, Kim, what about—"

"Thanks for the birthday wishes, Ron," Kim responded, without even looking at him.

"Kay," Ron replied and Kim noticed Ron looking a little crestfallen. "So, like, we won't go to Bueno Nacho for your birthday, will we?"

"No. I'm not well enough."

"Maybe when you're better. I hope you get better really soon."

"Heh, I doubt that."

"I don't get it."

"Never mind, Ron—"

"No," Ron interrupted, "I don't just want to 'never mind', look, KP, I need to talk to you—"

"Ron, I'm not feeling well. Another time, ok?"

"But I thought you wanted me to—"

"Please? Thanks, bye."

And she shut the Kimmunicator off and placed it back onto her dresser. Reaching for the bag of crisps and pulling it open, she stuffed some into her mouth before she reached up to the top of her bed and brought down, not her Pandaroo, but her precious Rabphin, the one Ron had given to her and hugged it tightly.

If only Ron could be by her side. Closing her eyes, Kim imagined Ron sitting next to her and talking to her in a low, soothing voice. Talking about what? About nothing at all, this and that, or perhaps something really important. Just like all the times years ago in their early teens when Ron had given her permission to call him up at any time she desired, often in the middle of the night, if she was feeling pain and needed him.

And that's exactly what it was, her imagining him being like that if he found out.

_But he can't be with me now_, Kim thought bitterly. _This is different from cramps, this is far worse. I can't even _think _about it doesn't seem like it's something that could be real and could happen to _me_. But even as I lay here it's there…_ She shivered and hugged her Rabphin tighter. _This sucks!_

She remembered what Monique and Josh had said about their futures but how everything was certain for them and they were right on course. Who were they to talk about friends backing them up, breaking down walls, or their craft always being with them whenever and wherever? It wasn't the _same. _Even Ron of all people was right on track and here Kim was, left behind, even by Ron.

Kim toyed with the little bracelet on her wrist. Here were two representations of Ron, the Rabphin and the lanyard he had made for her, she felt so comforted by these objects that he had given to her and yet she could barely stand around him anymore.

_Why?_ She asked herself repeatedly. _Why can't we just _be _together?_

For until the time her parents returned home from work, Kim sat out her birthday eating chips and holding her Rabphin. When her parents did walk in the door downstairs, the crisps had provided Kim enough food in her belly to get out of bed and join in the celebrations of her own special day. Still in her purple pyjamas, Kim slowly trailed down from her room to the kitchen where Mrs Possible was putting the final touches on the cake.

"Oh, that looks delicious!" Kim exclaimed eagerly. Finally, something to help cheer her up! She reached out to take a small swipe at the icing but her Mother swerved her finger away.

"Just be patient! Go in the living room and see what's out there."

"Okay," Kim gave in with a slight smile on her face.

Out in the living room, her Father was placing the last birthday package in a stack. The Tweebs were there, naturally, and were keen on peeking at the gifts themselves.

"HEY!" Kim shouted and waved her arms. "Those are my presents, get away from there!"

"It's not fair," Tim shot back. "Kim gets so many presents!"

"Because there's only _one_ of her," Jim snorted.

"Tchach, no duh," Kim placed a hand on her hip. "I'd rather have one of you, even if it meant you get more presents than me," she added in a mutter.

"Heeeey!"

"Which one of us would you keep?"

"Neither, I'd ask for a _sister_," Kim retorted while reaching forwards to a small package on the top of the stack.

"That means she'd keep _you_," Tim grinned at his brother.

"NO, that's YOU!" Jim shot back.

The two began to bicker and toss their fists in the air attracting their Father's attention to break up the fight. Kim took the opportunity to poke at the wrapping paper of the small gift.

"Kim!"

Kim shot up and immediately placed the gift back on the stack and looked away as if she had attempted nothing. "What?" she asked casually, playing with her hair.

"Those are for _after_ cake," her Father replied sternly.

Kim sighed, "And Mom said to come out here and not touch the cake," she laughed.

Oh, it really was wonderful to act _normal_ again around the household. Kim knew it wasn't going to last, and not just as in 'to-day only' but as in the months to come when she'd _have_ to tell her parents the truth behind her sickness. So she took the day for all it was worth and enjoyed every moment that she could. Unfortunately, she didn't allow this to last very long.

Dinner had been eaten and it was time to bring out the cake. Kim still had not changed into clothes yet and so she sat there at the dinner table in her pyjamas as she eagerly awaited her birthday cake. All the lights were turned off and Kim could already see the faint glow of the candles coming from the kitchen.

Her Father came to sit next to her, Jim and Tim next to him to keep them in tow. Slowly and steadily, carrying her birthday cake, Mrs Possible began to sing the birthday song. It made Kim blush with embarrassment, but secretly, she really wouldn't have it any other way. Jim and Tim sang along, making up their own disgusting lyrics.

The Tweebs were right at 'And you look like a monkey' with the cake laid out in front of Kim, candles ready to be blown out, when the doorbell rang.

"Hang on, let me come back before you blow out the candles," Mrs Possible said as she rushed to the door.

Mr Possible pulled out his camera and began taking pictures of Kim in front of the cake.

"Daaaad," Kim groaned, throwing her head back in exasperation. "I'm in my pyjamas!"

"Just two more for the scrapbook…"

Kim was about to voice her complaints again when between the clicking sounds of the camera, she heard a faint voice coming from the living room other than her Mothers. Kim's heart began to beat quicker when she recognised who it was. Instantly, Kim shoved herself out of her chair and made a mad-dash to the living room, startling both her Father and her brothers.

She came to an abrupt halt when she saw Ron just in front of her Mother at the doorway.

"Kimmie!" Kim turned around when she head her daughter's approach. "Ron's come over!"

"Happy Birthday, KP!" Ron stood in his red and navy shirt and sweater, a handful of packages in his hands as he smiled ear to ear at her. She took a step away. "Sorry I was a bit late, but I just thought of a real cool present and—"

"Kimmie?"

"You shouldn't have come!" Kim burst before she fled upstairs as fast as her bare feet could run.

"Did something happen?" Mr Possible came into the living room with his camera and looked around. "Where's Kim? Aren't we going to do the cake now?"

Ron exchanged an anxious glance with Mrs Possible at his side. Fidgeting with the presents in his hands, he tried to say as normally as he could: "I'll go and check up on her."

Mrs Possible nodded, her expression apparently distressed for her daughter, however Mr Possible's expression was a little difficult to read. Ron decided to ignore it as he felt something inside the bottom of his stomach gnaw on his innards.

Leaving the Possible family behind, Ron slowly trudged up the stairs and towards Kim's loft bedroom. He knocked softly three times before he heard a muffled sound from the other side. Lifting the trap, Ron climbed inside, shutting it behind him.

He found Kim to be lying on her bed, her head resting on her pillow and staring with glazed eyes at the ceiling. Ron noticed she was holding the Rabphin he had given her. Walking forwards and pausing just before her bed, he cleared his throat to arouse her attention.

Kim jolted at the sound, sitting up, she shuffled away from Ron, as far as the headboard behind her would allow and placed the Rabphin next to her. She eyed him with wary eyes that sent confusion in Ron. When he took another step towards her, she pulled her legs close and hugged them.

"I thought you were Mom," she said. At least she was still looking at him.

Ron smiled weakly. "No, sorry. But they're worried. I am too, like, uh, what went on? You feeling right?" Another step forwards and Kim lowered her neck, still keeping an eye on Ron. "You don't look well… Is it me?"

"What makes you think that?"

Ron snorted, "Cos you bolted the second I came in the door."

"I told you earlier I wasn't feeling well," Kim blushed, casting her head away. She heard the sounds of Ron shuffling with the packages in his hands.

"Yea, well, you looked pretty okay to me downstairs."

"Ron!" Kim's head shot up, "I really _have_ been sick, would you _like_ to smell my vomit bucket?"

Ron recoiled and wrinkled his nose. "No way. No, I've had enough of that smell back in—"

"You would," Kim muttered under her breath. It was meant for her ears only, but Ron had overheard.

His eyes darted away from her and he tried to push down the rising emotion that, although foreign to him, he distinctly recognised as anger. He again shuffled with her presents in his hands which were becoming a little sweaty and his hands began to stick to the wrapping paper. "Look, about that… I… I know what this has all been about."

Kim lifted her head to stare at him bewilderedly.

"Can I sit down?" he ventured.

"Sure," she replied, her voice barely a whisper.

"It _is_ about me, I figured that out. Well, heh, doesn't take a brainiac to figure _that_ out…" He looked at Kim, she was gazing back at him, waiting for him to continue. "I figured out the reason you've been avoiding me..."

Kim froze. Her heartbeat began to race and her adrenaline skyrocket, never had she felt this nervous. Even plummeting out of the sky with no parachute couldn't stir such a reaction within Kim.

"You're obviously not going to bring it up," Ron went on, "I get that I have to do that… Sorry it took me so long. It took me awhile, cos, like, ok, see, at first I really didn't understand what was going on. But things started to happen… I noticed some stuff and was able to put them together. I can put two and two together to make five—"

"Four."

"Yea, I can do that. First, you were sick and came back to school in the afternoon and then second when you ran off on me after that one day when you handed me the money for Bueno Nacho. I know those were connected. Am I right, KP?"

Kim's breathing became more audible as her adrenaline began to climb. Now she wished it was _she_ who had the extra lives because at the rate her heart was beating, she felt like she was going to die any moment. She couldn't lie to him. But at the same time, Kim was, by no means, ready to tell Ron the truth. She wasn't ready for that; Kim wasn't ready for it herself. But how could she withhold the information if he figured it out on his own? _He deserves to know, I mean, he _is _the father. He may only become angry with me if I hold it from him when he _knows

"Yes."

Ron nodded. "Yea, I got that. That's when I learned why you were being distant from me. At first I thought you were angry, or you were trying to be mean… like…" He sucked in his breath, "Like back in Autumn. But then," he continued before Kim could interrupt heatedly, "This took me awhile too. But I figured out that you weren't being mean and I wasn't the one being hurt this time it was you. You were hurt and you were waiting for me to say something, right?"

"Ron…"

"I didn't want to say anything because I… don't agree."

" 'Don't… _agree_'?"

"Well you know that," Ron shrugged. He placed the presents down on her bed, leaving his hands free to fidget with each other instead. "Then, Kim… I, ok, I don't like seeing you like this, I really don't." Ron lifted his head to look Kim squarely in the eyes. "KP, I'm so sorry I'm doing this to you…"

"Ron…"

"I never thought… never thought it'd hurt you, I really didn't! Sometimes… I just wish you never went into my drawer but then I thi—"

"Drawer?" Kim asked.

"Yea, my drawer when you found my pills."

"Oh! Your bulimia…" _That's what we're talking about so… ok, where is Ron getting all this?_

"Um, that. Sometimes I wish you never found them in the drawer and then all this wouldn't be happening. Then maybe we wouldn't be having this convo and I wouldn't have put you through so much stress."

"I shouldn't be in stress."

"No-one should," Ron agreed obliviously. "I really think it's overdue of me to have this chat with you. You're sick and I don't want you to be sick _and_ be worried about me. You'll never get better that way! That's why I want to tell you that I'm sorry."

Kim looked up at him. "Really?"

"Of course," he smiled back at Kim. He looked at her bracelet, "I didn't make that for nothing, you know."

"So… so you're finally… finally going to… agree with me?" Kim prodded. Without even realising it, she shuffled closer to Ron. "You finally understand and you're going to let me help you!" Then through the despondent mood she'd had nonstop since she found out she was pregnant, a faint, but true smile crossed her face and she found a ray of sunshine begin to rise through the storm clouds within and shine onto her heart. "I can't believe it! I never thought… Ron, this is so…"

"Now, hang on," Ron began to actually flush. "I didn't say exactly that…"

"Ron…?" There went another cloud covering that ray of sunshine within her. She felt not just the depression surface, but a bubbling of emotions. Maybe it was her hormones, but she couldn't hold it in any longer.

"I'm _SICK_ of this!" she burst out, startling Ron next to her. "I just… I can't _take_ all of this, it's one stupid thing after another bloody stupid thing with us and I'm _sick_ of it!"

"KP!"

"Look, Ron, I just… you… You just don't _get it_, do you? You have… you have _no freaking idea_ how much… how much I _went through_ when you were in that coma, do you?"

Ron's eyes widened and he attempted to look at her through the corners of his eyes. "W-what does this have to do with…"

"Ron, I know you suffered a lot before you fell into the coma. But you have _NO_ idea how much _I_ suffered… I… you don't understand that I almost lost you, do you? You don't know how… how frightening… how…" Kim felt her voice begin to choke up but she fought it down. "I almost lost you… I don't want to go through something like that again. And that _could_ happen again if you don't _listen_ to me!"

_There's so much just around the corner waiting to unbalance us and… and if we don't deal with this, we won't be able to survive anything else…_

"Kim I don't understand…"

"It shows how much I _CARE_, Ron, oh my goodness! I'm sick of telling you that! I'm sick of saying—"

"I _know_ you care about me, Kim!" Ron cried back, he reached out to place his hands on her arms, but she cast her body away from him defiantly. "I was just _telling_ you I get that you care about me! That's how I figured out why you've been distant with me and you gave me the money for Bueno Nacho and didn't come—it was a test! Kim, I didn't spend the money, I didn't even go, I have it right here in my pocket to give back to you! Kim, I think that—"

"No, stop, Ron… just _stop_!" A memory thudded Ron and her crying for him to 'stop' and in this very room reminded him of another time. "How can you say you understand that I care about you when you don't even see what's in front of you face? Ron, I just…"

Kim felt a wave of, well, something, hit her and she gasped, rolling her head away from him to lay herself down on the pillow. Ron attempted to reach for her again but again she turned from him, speaking volumes that she didn't want even his touch. As she began to slouch down to rest, Ron moved closer to her, placing one hand on the headboard above her head as he went on.

"Kim, let me _finish_… I was sorry for hurting you and I'm sorry again for your stress right now. I know you care about me, but that doesn't mean I'm not allowed my own opinion—"

"_No_," Kim replied, beginning to shake her head. "It's not _about _opinion! How can you understand how much I care? If you did, you'd see how much I'm freaked for you, you'd see how much you're hurting _yourself_. If you say you know how much I care, then you'd see that's _why_ I'm distressed about you. Oh, I don't need this right now, why did this have to be brought up!"

She shivered when she felt Ron touch her cheek and brush away her hair that she hadn't seen coming. All this time she had been fighting his touch, but once she felt his hand lightly brush against her skin, it, to her surprise, eased her. It didn't cause disgust in herself.

"Ron… What are you going to do? Why did you bring this up?' she murmured, still leaning away from him. The more he lightly brushed her hair, the more she gradually turned to face him. "It's my birthday…"

"When I said I was sorry, I thought I was being clear," he replied in a low voice. Despite the words he said, his brushing and low voice began to force Kim into a dilatory state. She felt her eyes begin to droop sluggishly. "I was saying I was sorry for troubling with you my, uh, thing. I'm sorry I didn't talk to you sooner. I want to tell you I know why and that you don't have to turn from me anymore. Cool, right?"

But all while Kim was in this dream-like state. Ron's words were still coming through and her brain was still processing them. She didn't like what she was hearing. How _dare_ he apologise just for the stress and not want to stop the _source_ of the stress! It was heartless was what it was to Kim. Kim by now was just inches from leaning onto Ron's chest when she pulled back abruptly.

"That's it!" she demanded, fiercely incredulous.

Ron, too, pulled back, surprised by her reaction. "Isn't that what you need, Kim? I think you needed to know or would have gone on—"

"Wow, Ron, you just completely missed _everything_ I've been trying to _tell you_!" How could she get through to him? It was as if it was something that was impossible to fit in his brain and it was driving Kim to ultimate desperation. "It's hilarious that you say you're sorry, but you _really_ aren't!"

"How many times do I have to tell you _what_ I'm sorry for!"

"And I heard that!" Kim shot back, "But that doesn't solve anything! It shows you just don't understand! If you really want to help, you'd let me help you because _that's_ what's stressing me right now!"

"Well, I'm _sorry_, KP! But what if I don't agree? I—"

Kim dropped forwards, her head hanging and her hair covering her face. She struggled so hard to fight back her tears, her chest heaved, her mind spinning. There wasn't anywhere left to go. He just wouldn't accept it. "You would. You would if you could see it… if you could just _get it_."

"Get what?" Ron replied with a slight snarl in his voice.

Kim lifted up her head and shot her eyes into his, "That _I LOVE _you!" she exploded.

They froze. Kim gasped quietly as she looked up at Ron next to her. He was _so _close, looking down at her, his expression utterly and beyond any shock he had experienced. For the longest time, they didn't say anything. All Kim could think about was how Ron would react.

Blushing like never before, Kim began to stutter. "I… I, Ron… I, Oh, I've worked so hard to keep us together after you fell into the coma and I don't want anything to split us apart again!" Kim began to shake her head from side to side deliriously. "Ron, I'm in love with you and I… I just… I don't want anything to happen t-to us… You're still my best friend… I—"

She looked up at Ron who was still staring at her, his mouth parted slightly.

"Ron?" she asked, beginning to feel fear. "Oh, come on, d-don't say you didn't know? Somewhere? Deep inside? Isn't it _obvious_!" Kim felt her arms beginning to shake as well and soon she felt tears begin to gather in the corners of her eyes and they quickly blurred her vision they came in the masses.

Her lip trembled as she waiting for Ron to say something. Surely he felt the same back? If he didn't… if… Could this _really_ be the one thing? Could this _small_ child insider her, not even present yet, be the one thing that could finally tear them apart through all that they've been through and worked hard to achieve? If she couldn't be with Ron… if she was left alone…

Kim had been avoiding Ron all this time, turning her back on him in her fear that she didn't even want to admit to when she had actually needed him at her side. She _did_ need his solace and assurance, even if he was making her feel anguished, that was _her_, that wasn't something he was doing to her purposefully. All this time he had been constantly trying to reassure her. Now there was only one thing alone that could push those fears of him away. Kim was indeed sick of it: she no longer desired to fear Ron or their future. Monique _was_ right, she did need Ron to help tear down that wall, whatever decision resided behind that wall. She couldn't do it alone, even if Ron didn't want to help, he at least deserved to put in his own say. And how could he just leave her if that's what he decided upon? Kim had said before, although she had never been perfect, she had worked so hard to be together with Ron. If only she hadn't had just realised this! It could quite possibly be too late.

Finally, Ron's eyes returned to Kim and his eyes bore into her own like never before. For once, his eyes that were normally intensely tender were suddenly so strong, sharp and oddly intelligent, deeply penetrating Kim's own. She felt him reading her, taking her apart layer by layer and leaving her with nothing. What was he doing? She thought this frantically and felt herself begin to shake again. Never. Not _ever_ in Kim's entire life, even back in Autumn, during their hand-holding and what came after had Kim felt so vulnerable. Only to Ron would this side of her be shown.

"Yea," Ron said, smoothing out the comforter at his side. "I've known that all this time, I guess. Love me as in _love_-love?"

Kim nodded, now unable to breath.

Ron too nodded, more to himself. "I guess I did, all that you've done to show me that you care about _me_. Even the times you've turned away from me, I guess that also showed how much I'm important to you, right? When you thought I was a jerk to you, you turned away and you were really hurt cos you thought you lost the real me. And then recently I drove you away cos you were so upset with my ish. M-maybe I am wrong this time about it, if you love me enough to stress out like this… Autumn kinda put in my mind that you're always at fault, but I am too. I'm not prideful, I can suck it in and admit I was wrong. I… I didn't _know_, Kim, I looked it up online and you were right! And, and… and Yes. I knew it then when I realised you were right… I know it now… And you know…" Kim's admission had given Ron the courage to agree with her with what he had discouvered about his problem just last night. Kim lifted her head to him and Ron again looked at her, instead of meandering all across her room. "Is it just as obvious that I'm in love with you too?"

The smile inside Kim lighted her up inside and spread all over her. That ray of sunshine that had been blocked by that cloud now burst open and chased away every dark, ill and depressed thought within her. _Every_. Single. _One_.

The smile outside Kim was a tiny quirk. "A little."

Ron smiled, "But…"

Uh-oh, the clouds were coming back.

"You know what that means right?"

"Uh…" And Kim was normally good at essay questions.

"I know you love me, and you saying that… and all that's happened in the past weeks. It's helped me."

"Helped you how?" Kim whispered back.

"Make up my mind," Ron answered, now picking at the blanket next to him. "I know we haven't brought it up, but I've been thinking about it non-stop. When I lay in bed at night, when we're passing time going to places on our missions, even when we're just hanging out all normal-like. Sometimes I think yes, sometimes I think no. But…"

Still Ron wouldn't look at her as he rambled on in a low voice. "You wanted to know the reason why I came here. I didn't just come here to, like, tell you what I figured out. Oh, and cos of your bday. See, I had to so I could explain this. But, uh, yea, um… Like I said, I understand that all that caring you have more is, like, love. _Real_ love, that real stuff. And it's not just the words, hearing you say it that made up my mind cos talk can be cheap, right?"

Kim flushed and knew he was getting at her promises in the Autumn in the tree, on the dock, on the bed…

" 'Actions speak louder than words', you told be once before you were gonna go beat up a buncha henchmen. I haven't forgotten that. Your actions lately spoke loudly, but I was just trying to translate them into the wrong language, I guess. But even if it was all yucky for us, it helped make up my mind. And this time, I'm superbly positive I made the right decision."

"I don't understand…" Her voice was not even yet a whisper.

Nor was Ron's when he replied: "I forgive you."

Kim, with her hand already tightly clasped together in front of her, smiled the largest smile since nearly a month ago. Her eyes began to well up again, but this time, tears of joy flourished and she truly felt the unconditional, yes—_unconditional_—love from Ron that was for her alone. No more distancing herself from him, no matter what became of the future, she _knew_ Ron would be there. You could have said she should have always known that, but of course she couldn't have, not until he _forgave_ her. Forgave her for all of her faults, forgave and loved her—together, those two formed an unspoken, mutual promise that he would, no matter what happened, love her for everything about her and always would. It was the forgiving she had asked for while in his mind and again by his hospital bedside. For months he hadn't been able to give her an answer, but now…

"Um," Ron, turned his eyes away from Kim as he boldly held out his arms to her. "May I?" he asked.

Kim nodded, although Ron's head was still turned, she flung herself into his arms, almost toppling him off the bed and she began to laugh. Ron pushed himself up as Kim clung to him tightly and leaned back against the headboard to wrap her in his arms.

"Thank-you," Kim whispered in his ear, her tears rubbing off onto him.

"Ah," Ron began to glow with brilliance, and buried his face into her shoulder, wearing her tears of euphoria proudly. "No big. Oh, and Happy Birthday."

And so with all of their immediate issues resolved for the time present, the three of them sat there together on the bed… four if you included Rufus.


End file.
